1.
Twisted
Keiko screamed as she thrusted her twin knives into the phantom. Twisting the blades inside the monster's internal organs, she severed it in half with blood spurting out into the air. She glared into the depths of the thing's eyes and spat. "You are so out of season."
With a blood red sky in the background, the phantom exploded before their death was made final with a flash.
Keiko dropped to the ground kneeling, her pristine white knees socks ripping at the hems. Long, azure blue strands of hair fell into her face as she panted, sweat collecting from her forehead and dripping down in heavy drops from her chin. She sat up some to realize her empty hands were shaking; she must've dropped her regalias in her descent back to earth.
"Takumi and Mayumi, return." She commanded with her soft voice. In a flash, two twins stood in front of her where the knives had once laid.
The twins were a boy, Takumi, and a girl, Mayumi. While Takumi stretched out his lithe and skinny body in a catlike manner, his green hair flickering through numerous shades in the lamplight, Mayumi glared sharply with her steely eyes at Keiko. Keiko offered a smile. Mayumi's frown deepened as she turned her broad shouldered torso to her brother, whispering something with her deep and discreet voice into his ear. He smirked before glancing at Keiko with pale eyes.
Pale and silvery glinting eyes in the lamp light, green hair falling into his lovely face… Keiko took in the sight of him like he was the oasis while she was in the desert. Takumi wore his usual ruby red baggy tee shirt underneath a loose leather jacket, black stone-washed skinny jeans that sagged in some parts, red high tops; he was the definition of what every little miss perfect in Japan secretly wanted. And here he was, working for her. Well, him and his sister.
Keiko looked at Mayumi and found the same pair of pale eyes that were in Takumi staring back at her, but instead of Takumi's usual flirting glance, it was a dagger-like glare that sliced into Keiko like a chainsaw and ground her soul up. Coal black hair that curled around her harsh and scarred face, a face that had scared Keiko immediately when the regalia twins had offered their services to her. The girl still wore her signature tight leather jacket over a schoolgirl's shirt, with a small skirt and leather combat boots that scraped against the ground wherever she walked.
The twins were complete opposites, all except for the mark of their shared weapon's name 美 and their matching eyes. Even then, as time passed on and Keiko looked from Mayumi's glare and Takumi's glances, she felt a dread take over her before she reached up and felt the wrinkles on her forehead. Oh no, she thought in disgust. Premature wrinkles make you like a smoker and smoking is so not cool. I can not have any of that mess. Immediately she felt her face flicker like a light bulb coming back to life and she was beaming once again at her regalias as she stood, smoothing out her heather gray, inch-above-the-knee length skirt.
"So," she smiled at the twins. "Who wants to get some food?"
Mayumi scoffed before flicking a piece of her coal black hair behind her shoulder.
"We're not hungry." She answered coldly. Mayumi then began tugging down the sleeves of her tight leather jacket and scuffed her heavy combat boot against the concrete. In the dim lamplight of the night, Keiko tried to ignore the stronger feeling of something about to go wrong.
"Neither of you?" She asked, looking hopefully at Takumi.
Beautiful Takumi, sweet Takumi, cute Takumi… From the way he stretched in that graceful cat-like way, to the sound of his coat brushing against hers when they walked side-by-side, to the quick and witty remarks he would make. He reminded her of better times, made her feel safe… That had to be it, right? She loved him? She didn't like how the look in his eyes now were making her question everything.
"No, Keiko. We're not hungry. In fact," he grinned so cat-like in the dark it was almost mancing, "we all just need to talk."
"Talk?" Keiko squeaked. "About what? Something besides dinner? Sounds dull to me!" She tried to giggle away the terrible feeling in her stomach, but with Mayumi looking more angry than usual and Takumi looking so frightening, so sickeningly twisted in the pale night…
"Yes," Mayumi snapped venomously. "Anything but dinner. Dammit, do you have another stomach where your brain should be?" The smart-aleck regalia smirked. "It sure would explain your lack of any sense half the time."
Keiko took a step back before glaring at the wayward regalia. "Yumi," she hissed sharply. "I am you master! You can't just talk to a goddess like that." She huffed before crossing her arms against her chest and looking away haughtily. Her sweater was beginning to itch. "Especially not the one you're working for."
"My name is not Yumi, you stupid little ditz of a―"
"Sis." Takumi said coolly, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. Keiko stared at them shocked, her jaw slack. She tried to ignore the envy of Takumi trying to soothe his sister instead of her. "Not like that. She can still…"
"I can what?" Keiko asked softly, her big brown eyes suddenly casting down as she gulped. Strands of blue hair caught in her lashes. She blinked quickly, but she couldn't tell herself if it was for the hair or the oncoming tears. "Kill you? Is that what you're afraid of? Pushing me to kill you?"
There was a null silence before Keiko sniffed and looked up to see Takumi looking at her uneasily.
"We want to quit," he whispered.
She turned quickly, hiding her face and staring up at the moon. Keiko blinked as the tears of shock blinded her. If she had been so sure that she loved him just a few seconds ago, was this a new sensation of heartbreak? Is this what those pop songs were about, the ones she had danced and sang along to with Takumi in the karaoke bars while Mayumi glowered and pouted in some lonesome corner of the place? If it was, she never wanted it again.
"W-Why? Haven't I clothed you guys enough? I offer to buy you guys stuff that isn't even the latest trends, no matter how last season they are," she paused to choke on what air her lungs would take, and a small hiccup of her silent sobs escaped into the silent screaming between the pair and her. "I feed you guys… I talk with you guys… I even bought us that three room apartment yesterday." She turned around to face them while wiping her tears before staring at them coldly. "Now you're going to leave just because you think I'm dumb, despite all the preparations and technicalities I take care of for us?"
Mayumi's jaw dropped a little while Takumi pushed his sister behind him some. "We have our reasons, Keiko. We didn't make you get that three room apartment. Besides, you of all gods should know that regalia aren't always permanent." While her face didn't betray her emotions, Keiko took a step back in shock at Takumi's words. It felt like she had just been slapped. How dare he speak to me about that. "You have no reason to play this guilt card." His eyes narrowed into slits. "I know you're better than that."
"You don't know me at all," she spat with venom, her face heating as hair caught in her face again. "If you did, then you wouldn't be doing this. But I guess we all thought we knew each other better than we actually do." A piece inside her hardened. "Whatever, it's over." She drew up to her full height before drawing out their weapon's name in the air, a white line following each with ease and grace with of the gentle yet thorough strokes: 美 "I hereby release you."
Their weapon's marks suddenly rose off the skin of their necks like shattered red glass before disappearing all together. They each raised their right hand to touch the skin where their marks had just once been.
For the first time since the first day, six months ago, that Keiko saw Mayumi smile. It was small at first, only her lips, before it grew and grew into a beam that stretched all over her face and shone through her eyes. "Finally!" Mayumi suddenly latched onto her brother's arm and giggled. "We're free, Takumi! Free!"
"Yeah," he said softly, his pale eyes staring at the ground in front of Keiko's feet. "I guess we are."
Keiko watched the two, Mayumi suddenly a cheerleader and Takumi the sullen wallflower. Hadn't they just been debating whether they should have ramen or hibachi for dinner just a couple of hours ago? Now here they were, Mayumi and Takumi without a master and apparently finally free of Keiko while she was left alone, heartbroken and regalia-less. Well, except for Harumi. But even then, how could she talk to him when she hadn't even bothered acknowledging his existence for months?
She took in a deep breath of air through her nose before brushing her hair with her fingers numbly. She gulped while turning on her heel ever-so-slowly. It was painful to move. She really just wanted to lay down.
"I…" She paused when she dared to look back at the twins, Mayumi hugged her brother tightly while glancing back at Keiko while Takumi stared at her with a look that could almost be described as heartbroken. Almost.
You can't be heartbroken when you never loved.
"I just want to let you guys know that… I hope you…" It hurt to talk this when inside she cracking like vase hitting a stone floor. "I hope you find a better new master to serve. And, Takumi," she added softly. He stiffened. "Have a nice second-chance at life."
And then she felt it all collapse as she finally turned on her heel and began to walk away. Nothing moved around her. No one seemed to be following, or even moving, behind, in front, or to the side of her. Keiko was alone. All except for the moon. She looked at the moon as she walked for a second and smiled. Yeah, at least she had the moon.
"KEIKO, WAIT!"
She paused to hear sneakers scrape as someone ran up from behind her and caught her by her shoulder, trying to whirl her around. She refused to even budge.
"What now, Takumi? Haven't you and your sister taken enough from me in one night?" She whispered, her voice to dulled and tired for her to put even the slightest bit of spite into it. Her shoulder felt icy at the feel of Takumi's grip on her wool sweater.
Heavy breathing. Looser grip on her shoulder. Soft voice. "I just wanted to… to let you know something." Gasping for breath.
Had she really walked that far? It had felt like only seconds, maybe a couple of feet. Nothing had changed at the pavement when she had been walking it all just blurred together and she knew looking at the moon would've only made her even lonelier.
"What, Takumi?" So tired. So carved out. So empty. So… numb.
"I think… I thought it would be only fair… to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"I lo―"
"NO!" Keiko suddenly, a white-hot flash of heart-aching pain and rage flushed inside her. She spun with an outstretched hand and felt her knuckles hit his cheekbone. A sharp cheekbone, making her knuckles ache immediately. She raised her knee that slammed into his stomach as she kicked him back. She spat at him as he fell the ground. "Don't you dare lie to a god, no matter what they are the god of! I am a goddess of culture, a goddess of pop culture nonetheless. I am above you and I don't need to suddenly take pity on you for betraying me and then trying to repay me with your selfish lies. You do not know what love is, at least, not the kind that you speak of! I loved you and you and your sister took advantage of that, using me for everything you were selfish and lazy to get yourselves.
"You were divine instruments of a goddess who wanted nothing less than the best for you. I tried to make you happy, comfortable, to make your second-life a beautiful thing that I could ever have the pleasure of being apart of. Now I see that you were the one who should've felt lucky. You still should be." She couldn't help but smile wickedly, despite the unfeeling nature inside. "I still could kill you right now."
"Am I really this desperate?" Keiko sighed, smoothing out the card in her fingers.
DELIVERY GOD YATO 3 090-XXXX-##3X was scrawled on the small business card (it felt more like a cheap index card, to be perfectly honest) in messy handwriting. She remembered the day she found it lying on the street, abandoned in a pile of similar cards right in front of freshly spray painted graffiti. Keiko remembered giggling at memories of Yato, calling him and flirting with him. Silly jobs for a silly pair.
She slumped against her bedroom wall some more before pressing the card against her bare knee and pulling down the silky lace skirt of her dress with one hand and pulling up her socks with the other. She reached over and grabbed her pair of blushing pink rose colored, old-fashioned styled lace up pumps before pulling them on, tying the laces delicately in that not-too-tight yet still chic looking way.
Standing, she walked out with heels clicking on the wooden floors of her apartment to the front door. She picked the small wool jacket off the coat stand, slipping it on and pulling out her long blue hair when the strands got caught in between the dress and her coat. Smoothing out her pretty pink dress with a high frilly white collar, puffy petticoat, bow dead on the waist, and all the sleekness of what every Lolita in Japan dreamed of, Keiko finally placed her small pink cap, the one with the white seams.
Taking in a deep breath, she looked at her image in the full length body mirror that hung on the back of the front door. She looked taller with the heels, cute yet formal in her outfit, and absolutely just like a Hatsune Miku lookalike with her long blue hair hanging down all to the backs of her knees and her makeup done to perfection, her eyes look bigger and her lips fuller.
"I am Keiko, goddess of pop culture," she said to her reflection, picking up her bag and slipping her phone and the card into the front pocket. "And I am only calling Yato on professional business. Nothing more, nothing less." She stared longer into the mirror and saw her pupils begin to dilate. She giggled a little, feeling the weight lift off of her chest seamlessly. "Heh, who am I kidding?"
Walking out her. Locking it behind her. Skip down the stairs. To the street. Down some more. To the stop light. Stop. Pull out the phone. Pull out the card. Stare. Sigh.
Contacts: Cat-Boy Beyotch
"Heh."
Dial.
Ring…
Ring…
"Delivery God Yato, at your service!"
Smile.
"Hey there, Cat-Boy."