:: Stained Agony ::

//Scars followed, haunting him in his path for an endless cycle of fear. His memories were faint, yet clear enough to taint him for life.//

"Michiru, when will you bother to stop acting like that?"

"There you are, Michiru." The woman held him in a tight embrace. She was his mother as he recalled.

A large, yet warm hand ruffled his head. "Have you been a good boy while we were away?" The child nodded with a half formed smile on his face.

"Let's get going." She grasped his tiny hand, allowing warmth through. It filled the child with a sense of security as if to contradict reality.

"What do you mean, Ami-chan?"

Bitter sounds of laughter responded to his words. "The professor has changed you… for worse, but not that much. I've known you since that day."

He was already accustomed to the steady movement of the vehicle. Still he was naïve, unaware of fate.

Since that day. That phrase reminded him of their past. The two of them were children back then. Both immune to reality.

//Shock…panic…blood//

The wheels formed an abrupt stop. Panic engulfed them all. Blood filled his vision. Though it was useless, he closed his eyes in an attempt to erase everything. Death took his parents. Soon, he will be brought death as well. Sirens could be heard before everything faded.

"If that Professor Kujyou hadn't saved your life, I would never have forgiven him."

"You say that all the time, Ami-chan."

//All that remained was silence.

Already a year has passed since that day.//

"Michiru." Sounds could be heard. The voice was familiar though it did not belong to his father.

"Michiru."The word was repeated. It was his name being spoken. In spite of everything, the tone held concern, as though the man was his father.

"I just don't understand you at all when it comes to this. What good was he?"

"He was like a father…and he helped me regain hope after that time…" His normally playful expression grew solemn.

The professor proved to be a father to him, caring for him as though he was his own child. Being the child that he was, he believed his scars to have healed when hope has been regained.

//Foolish…all of it was…//

"But you still act like that…" Her voice softened. "You weren't like that before. Not even while that professor was alive."

He hesitated, creating a string of silence between them.

After days of relief have passed, death has come to taunt him—again. He was aware of it. Still, knowledge hadn't ceased the pain. Despite his years, he was still naïve. His previous scars never healed, only new scars have stained him.

"You just want to hide everything, don't you?"

She knew him better than anyone else. For that reason she saw through the lies. All of them.

"Michiru…sorry…I've become another burden…"

Death has taken nearly everything from him. His parents, the professor, and now her. He despised it, and feared it. Perhaps he should have wished for death much earlier than now. Yet by now, it was too late to take it back. One by one, he watched them disappear from life. But soon, he too would join them.

Disclaimer: Kamichama Karin belongs to Koge Donbo and Kondansha, Nakayosi.

Note: Throughout the story there may be a few tense alternations (from past tense to present tense) for the sake of the effect.

The main point of this story was to avoid using as many breaks that I normally do. In fact there are nearly none except for the end. The conversation between Michiru and Ami became the lines. Anything with italics and is inside // (Example: //italics//) are additions to the past and don't relate to Michiru and Ami's conversation.

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Oh yes, and this was inspired by a post on 'Angelic Tales' by Seena58.