Chapter 26: The Background Characters
"He's realy bad at that"
Sitting on one of the chairs in the resting area. Her hands clasped in her lap as she observed the date between Kotori and Shido.
alongside them, were yoshino and tohka, who appeared to be relishing their time at the ocean park,
that said, but, it appeared that only they were truly enjoying themselves.
Shido and Kotori moved from game to game, they did not exhibit any signs of enjoyment. They seemed quite nervous and unsure of how to behave around one another. Given their history as siblings, this reaction was expected.
Hikaru let out a sigh, "Considering that Kotori is his sister, the favorability scale is already tipped in his favor. A kiss should be enough to seal the deal."
She lifted her head towards the glass ceiling, gazing at the blue sky in the distance. "In the end, everything should turn out alright...or at least, I hope so. Though, I can't keep my promise entirely if something unexpected happens," she murmured. The weight of sorrow was evident on her face as she recalled her conversation with Kotori the day before.
:
Late at night,
She lay on the bed, sinking her face into the soft pillow.
She had just got back from shopping.
She did not feel fatigued or anything. Rather, she has recently developed an affinity for reclining on her bed, relishing in the sensation of the plush pillow against her face.
She adjusted her head slightly to allow her left eye a view of the shopping bag containing her swimsuit.
"I must acknowledge the truth. Self-torturing like that would only further break me," she conceded.
Without leaving the comfort of her bed, she reached for the bag and retrieved the swimsuit. As she inspected the garment, her mind became transfixed and her eyes intently analyzed it.
Knock!
A gentle knock interrupted her thoughts, prompting her to lift her head towards the door. "Come in," she called out in response to the visitor.
The door creaked open slowly, revealing Kotori standing behind it. Hikaru raised an eyebrow in surprise at the unexpected guest. "Kotori?" she exclaimed
Approaching Hikaru, Kotori asked, "May I?"
Hikaru took a moment to comprehend Kotori's request before responding, "Oh! Yes, of course." She moved her leg and sat upright, offering Kotori a place to sit.
"I wasn't expecting a visit, but it's good to see you nonetheless." She glanced over at Kotori, but the young girl's head was lowered, making it difficult to read her expression.
"Thank you for your concern," Kotori replied, her tone sounding somewhat subdued.
Hikaru felt a tinge of guilt at her next question, as she didn't want to appear rude. "May I ask what brings you here today?" She hoped that her query would help to dissipate the tension that seemed to be hanging in the air.
"I'm not planning to take up too much of your valuable time, I have come asking for a favor," Kotori spoke softly, her eyes still fixed on the floor.
"favor?"
Kotori's eyes remained downcast as she continued, "Reine told me everything that happened after I lost control. I can't tell you how sorry I am, but what's done is done. I can't change anything now." She paused for a moment, her hands tightly clasped together. "But I don't want that to happen again. That's why I have to go on a date with Nii-san tomorrow. I know I'm putting a lot on my brother's shoulders, but I don't have much time left. This is my last chance."
Kotori finally raised her eyes to meet Hikaru's. A face mix of regret, fear, and pain. That is what hikaru saw.
"If anything happened, I want you to kill me!" Kotori's voice shook with emotion as she made her request.
" I see...." Hikaru's eyes dropped to the ground as she contemplated the gravity of Kotori's request. She took a deep breath as she leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Kotori.
"Before I can provide any assistance, I need to fully understand why this is your last chance," she said in a measured tone.
"...Yes, you have the right to know now that I've come to ask for your help," Kotori shifted uncomfortably, her fingers fidgeting as she spoke.
"i was a human, or that's what i believe i was, but five years ago...I became a Spirit, i don't remember how, as part of my memory got lost about that event--"
"What!" Hikaru's eyes widened in shock at Kotori's revelation. Without even realizing it, she rose from her seat.
"...?" Kotori looked up at Hikaru with confusion in her eyes.
"you said you lost your memories?"
Kotori nodded a look of confusion and apprehension crossing her face, "Y - Yes, Neither I nor Shido remembers what happened exactly five years ago...what with that?"
Hikaru's hand instinctively went to her forehead as she scanned the room, deep in thought. "So Kotori has also lost her memories about the event that made her a spirit, just like me? And the boy as well? Could this be connected to his peculiar ability to seal Spirits...?" Her voice trailed off as a sense of foreboding settled over her.
Hikaru brought her gaze back to Kotori. "Is this the case with Yoshino and Tohka?"
Kotori shook her head. "We did not investigate that."
Hikaru stroked her chin thoughtfully as she resumed her seat beside Kotori. "I see," she said, her mind racing with newfound insights.
'I think I located the starting point, good,' she thought as she turned to Kotori. "I am sorry for my behavior. You can continue now," she said with a reassuring smile.
"... okay... as I was saying, the nature of my powers makes me susceptible to losing control and causing destruction. Every time I use this power, I feel myself slipping further and further into a state of chaos."
"..."
"After our last battle, I reached my breaking point. I can feel the angel within me devouring my very soul piece by piece. I fear I have little time before I succumb to its power and lose myself completely."
"That's why you need my help" hikaru added.
"Yes, I am aware that it is not my place to make such a perilous request of you, but you possess the necessary strength to end my life if needed... I am sorry" Kotori's body shook as she spoke, her hands trembling and her eyes downcast as if she carried a heavy burden on her shoulders.
Hikaru looked at Kotori, her eyes scanning her face, "The way you're asking me for this favor... i don't like it.."
"...Huh?!... What do you mean?" She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to understand what hikaru had just said
"you ask me as if we are strangers negotiating a deal, i don't like that"
Hikaru stood straight and tall again, her gaze fixed on the Kotori, "I need a straightforward answer without any unnecessary reactions, Okay?... you love him, yes or no?"
"...Yes i do" Her expression remained unaltered.
"Then that's settled. You only need him to kiss you, and that's the easy part." Hikaru lowered herself into a kneeling position as she tilted her head, offering a reassuring smile. "Tomorrow will be just another day for you. Try to enjoy yourself, alright?"
Kotori's eyes filled with tears, as she nodded, "Yes... T-Thank you...."
Hikaru reached out her hand to gently brush away some of Kotori's tears. "In the future, there's no need for apologies or pleas when you request something from me. Simply express your desires and show gratitude, I am your Big Br - Sister after all" she advised.
Kotori chuckled, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "You seem to have a habit of wanting everyone as your little sister, don't you?"
"The words resonate with me for some reason," Hikaru said, chuckling back.
:
Hikaru gradually opened her eyes, returning to the present moment with a sense of purpose. "I believe it's time to join them"
Standing up, she began to search for them in the location where she had previously seen them, but they were nowhere to be found.
"where did they go?"
As she strolled through the water park, the sun beat down on her skin, warming her from the inside out. The sounds of laughter and splashing water filled her ears, bringing a small smile to her lips. Her gaze was fixed on the children playing in the pool, their joyful screams and shouts echoing off the walls.
She watched as a young girl, no more than six or seven, giggled as she splashed her father in the face. The man's eyes sparkled with delight, and he playfully dunked the girl under the water. The girl surfaced, sputtering and laughing, and hugged her father tightly.
As she walked toward the end of the pool, she enjoyed the refreshing breeze that brushed her face.
"That's a nice feeling"
But Suddenly, "...!"
A little boy bumped into her and pushed her into the pool.
Splash!
"hahahahaha, see i told you i got nerves, to do it, now you own me 10 epic Pokemon cards," the little boy said, as another little girl and boy approached him.
"i can't believe you did it, what if the mismplain about us to our mother, she would kill us," the other boy with glasses added
"How could.d she possibly do that?" he replays, "let's just move from here and everything is solved," he said as he was ready to leave.
The glasses boy sighed, "i think this will be my last bet with you, come on, sis we leaving" he called for her sister, but the young girl appeared to be lost in her world.
"Sis?" he called again, but the girl's eyes remained fixated on the pool, where the boy had just pushed Hikaru.
She turned towards him with a pallid expression of fear and spoke, "It's been two minutes already, and there is no sign of her showing up."
"Huh? What is your concern?" he inquired as he approached her, "This is a children's pool, and its depth is no more than 1 meter (3.2 feet). There's no way she could drown there."
"Wait...Could it be that she hit her head on the bottom of the pool and lost consciousness?" the four-eyes boy said With a look of horror, as he turned to his brother
The boy opened his mouth to objects, but he found his brother's words logical, "oh shit!" he curses
"Mother will kill me!" he shouted in fear.
"you stupid, forget about Mom, if father found out, he would make us go through something worse than death, you idiot!"
The little girl fell to her knee as the tears flowed down, "NO- I DONT WANT TO GO TO JAIL!" she cried.
"you guys make so much noise, can you shut up"
"...!" they heard a voice behind them, they immediately turned to the source, just to find hikaru standing tall as an ice cream in her hand.
"How?!" the boys questioned
"the miss!" the little girl shouted as she stood on her feet and ran toward hikaru, hugging her from the legs.
"I am not going to jail, YAY!"
"oh~ how cute, why did this little princess go there" She reached out to pat the little girl's head
"On the other hand," Hikaru said, raising her gaze to the boy who had pushed her. With a sly smile spreading across her face, she began to make her way towards him.
"shit! Brother help" he called out in desperation, but the younger boy was nowhere to be found. "That traitor!"
Hikaru was already tall standing in front of him, "now brat, how would i deal with you"
"..." He swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on the ground. "Let's just accept the punishment," he thought to himself, "What is the worst that she could do?"
"oh i know, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'," she said with a smug expression, shifting her weight to one leg. "And, in this case, a push for a push," she concluded, before delivering a swift kick that sent the boy tumbling into the pool.
"huh?!"
Splash!
In the blink of an eye, the boy found himself submerged at the bottom of the pool. Although the pool was only 3 feet deep, being a little kid of no more than 7 years old, it was enough to engulf his entire body.
Fortunately, he knew how to swim and made his way back to the surface again.
"You!", He exclaimed.
Hikaru stood still, savoring her ice cream as a sly grin crept onto her face. "You seem to be soaking wet, little boy. What happened?"
"..."
"Sasuke!" A distant cry pierced the air, the woman's voice echoing with urgency, "Sasuke!"
Hikaru arched an eyebrow and turned toward the direction of the voice, catching sight of a woman in her early thirties.
'Their mother?' Hikaru thought
As the woman approached her, Hikaru was taken aback when the woman suddenly bowed her head.
"...?!"
"I am so sorry if my kid did anything to bother you," the mother apologized while continuing to bow her head. "I promise it won't happen again."
"Hold on, ma'am, what are you doing? Please raise your head," Hikaru said, feeling perplexed by the situation.
'Did the boy cause that much trouble for her to expect him to have caused another one immediately?' She couldn't help but wonder.
The mother lifted her head slowly, her expression filled with concern. "I'm not sure what my son did this time, but I am so sorry"
"N-No ma'am, the boy didn't do anything wrong. He was just making a harmless joke,"
"That is a relief," the woman exclaimed, placing her hand over her heart and letting out a sigh of relief.
She redirected her attention to the boy who had just emerged from the pool.
"Just wait until we get home,"
"fuck!" he muttered under his breath, then shot a venomous glare towards Hikaru - the kind reserved for one's worst enemy.
'Hey don't look at me like that, that's your fault' Hikaru thought.
As the small family departed, Hikaru felt a sense of disorientation. "I completely forgot about the Date," she realized, continuing her stroll with a furrowed brow.
(...)
Hikaru had been wandering around the park for nearly half an hour, scouring the area for any sign of Kotori, Shido, Yoshino, or Tohka. Yet, to her dismay, she couldn't find them anywhere.
"Could it be that they've already completed the mission and gone back home? That would be ideal. I'm starting to feel quite hungry," Hikaru pondered.
"I'm going to have to punish them for leaving me behind," she giggled,
but she swallowed her words as she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet tremble. At first, it was so subtle that most people wouldn't have even noticed.
"Earthquake," she muttered to herself, but it soon became apparent that this was not a natural disaster.
The ground continued to shake, each time growing stronger until even the other people in the park were starting to take notice.
"No," Hikaru whispered in disbelief. "That's not an earthquake."
"Please tell me that what I'm thinking isn't true."
And then it happened.
BOOM!
An explosion tore through a building store just a few blocks away from her, sending shockwaves through the ground and rattling nearby buildings. Hikaru had to hold onto a lamppost to keep from falling over. Flames licked at the building's exterior, and smoke billowed into the sky.
"Was it an accident? A gas leak? Or something similar?" she wondered, But deep down, she knew the truth, even if she didn't want to believe it.
As Hikaru regained her balance, she slowly made her way toward the ruined building. The people around her had already fled, and more were running away from the source of the explosion.
As she walked, she noticed a familiar face in the air engaged in combat.
"Kotori and Origami..." she said, recognizing the two combatants. Kotori was in her astral dress, while Origami was clad in a wired-looking suit that was surprisingly massive.
Hikaru watched as Origami continued to shout indiscriminately around the park, the same case with Kotori. She could understand why Kotori was doing it, as she saw the red glow in her eyes. However, with Origami, she couldn't comprehend why she couldn't see the destruction she was causing, the death of people she the cause of. Considering she was supposed to be a hope for humanity, a life-saving soldier.
"WHAT?"
The exchange of attacks between Kotori and Origami grew more intense, with the beams destroying everything in their path. Hikaru watched, transfixed, as one of the beams headed toward her.
Explosion!
Hikaru slowly regained her vision, and the world around her came into focus. She raised her hand to her head, trying to shake off the pain that throbbed through her skull. "What happened?" she muttered to herself, her voice shaky and uncertain.
She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision. And then she felt it- a warm, wet substance dripping down her face. Panic surged through her body as she raised her hand to investigate. Had she been injured in the blast? Had she not noticed because of the shock?
Desperately, she searched for a wound, but there was none. The blast hadn't hit her directly, and her body was tough enough to withstand the force of the explosion. But then why was her hand coated in a slick, red substance? Why was the floor around her stained with the same color?
Trembling, Hikaru moved her gaze to the surroundings, and that's when she saw it.
The park that had been a serene haven just moments ago was now transformed into a scene of utter devastation. Her eyes settled on bodies lying motionless on the ground. The figure was completely still, and the pools of blood around it were growing larger by the second.
Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she was seeing - human organs strewn haphazardly everywhere. The smell of blood and death hung heavy in the air. It was a gruesome sight that no human should ever have to witness. The destruction around her was immense. The once-peaceful park was now a warzone, and Hikaru was right in the middle of it.
"Mo..m"
A voice called from behind. It was shaking and weak.
Hikaru heart sank as she turned slowly to the source.
"Mo...m, it's hu...rt" the voice called again, now even weaker than before.
"N- No" the word barely left her mouth as she saw what was in front of her.
The little girl from before, sinking into a pool of blood.
The left side of her face is swollen, and her left eye is almost completely shut. The skin around her left temple is black and blue. Her right arm is bent at an awkward angle, clearly broken. Her hand is limp, and she can see the bone poking out through her skin.
Her shirt was soaked through with blood. It's coming from a deep wound in her side.
"Mi..ss?"
A weak voice seemed to be calling for her.
Her eyes widened in realization.
The little girl wasn't alone.
Her brother, the one that pushed her was there, clinging to his sister as if his life depended on it, his arms wrapped tightly around her small frame. as though he feared she would slip away if he let go. His face was wrought with fear and desperation.
"Mi..ss, please... my sister... save her"
he pleaded with difficulty as if struggling to utter the words.
His condition seemed no better,
His face was unrecognizable, distorted beyond recognition by the force of the explosion. His hair had been singed off, leaving his scalp a raw and bloody mess. His right eye was swollen shut, and his lips were cracked and bleeding, his teeth exposed in a ghastly grin. She could see that his entire body was covered in burns and lacerations. His arms and legs were covered in deep gashes, and his hands were charred and blackened, the skin peeling away in thick layers.
Despite his injuries, he was still conscious, his breathing shallow and labored. His eyes flickered open as they were glazed over her.
"Why... why won't you answer me?" he gasped, struggling for breath. His eyes darted back and forth as he searched for any sign of hope. "...I can see, you're angry with me," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." His hand trembled as he extended it in a desperate plea. "So Please... you have to save her... she's too young to die..."
Hikaru's tears streamed down her face as she tried to grip the boy's hand back,
"It's okay for me, Mother wouldn't be sad... but she would do sister... I don't want her to be sad anymore... I want my sister to live," he whispered through his sobs. But his hand fell before Hikaru could grab it, and he lay there motionless.
"Ma-ma iam afraid--"
the girl's voice trailed off, and soon after, she followed her brother.
Hikaru's breathing quickened as she listened to the ominous silence that surrounded her. The little girl's voice trailed off, leaving her words hanging in the air, and then there was nothing. The silence was complete, oppressive, and terrible. The only sound was Hikaru's labored breathing.
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