Cruel Fate
"STAY AWAY FROM ME…!" Rika Furude cried out and ran from the room, angry tears streaming down her face.
"R-Rika! Come back!"
"Go away! I HATE YOU!"
She froze and glided to the floor with a stunned expression on her face.
Not comprehending what her best friend had just said.
"Wh-what…?" She managed weakly.
The blue haired girl sank to her knees and glared at her.
She was extremely relieved that the house was completely empty except for her.
Well…unless you counted one Hanyuu Furude.
Floating there in surprise and hurt clear on her face.
"Y-You… You're the reason why I'm always dying! You don't care about anything except…ENTERTAINING yourself by bringing me back countless times just to see me SUFFER!"
"N-No…! Rika! That's horrible…saying something like that…" Hanyuu choked, tears prickling at her own eyes.
"Well, it's true, isn't it?" She threw her head back and gave a bark like laugh, before facing her ancestor again.
"You ENJOY doing this! You may not be visible to anyone…and you may not be able to intervene…but you never get hurt at all…you just WATCH from sidelines…and you think it's AMUSING!"
"Th-That's not the case at all!" Hanyuu sobbed, her heart being ripped into two.
"W-Why…why do you exist?" Rika bellowed and beat the wooden floorboards in agony.
This silenced Hanyuu completely.
"If you didn't exist…I would have just died in the first world…and then I would be in heaven… enjoying life THERE with all my friends!"
Her mouth was wide open in shock.
How could she say such a thing…?
She must be losing it…
Hanyuu shook her head furiously, willed her tears to disappear and for throbbing head to cool down.
If I had to be killed hundreds and thousands of times…
I would probably have lost it way earlier back…
"If you hadn't come into my life…then this would have never happened!" Rika continued, her voice breaking.
"This is all your fault! You're the one who's responsible for ruining my life!"
The last surviving member of the Furude family finally broke down, not being able to take it anymore, and wept fitfully.
"R-Rika…" Hanyuu finally managed to croak and glided over to her.
She couldn't touch or comfort her friend physically.
Which pained her heart so much it felt as if it would burst.
"Wh-Why…why did this have to happen to someone like me? …I'm technically only eight years old…"
Rika faced Hanyuu, not with fury, but with a helpless plea.
"I'm only eight…"
"Rika…It's going to be alright."
"You liar…stop lying to me…!"
"I'm not lying!" Hanyuu's voice suddenly became unnaturally serious and her eyes narrowed.
"You are an amazing person, Rika. You managed to persevere for so long…even though you've been put down so many times."
"…I could say the same for you." Rika finally composed herself and breathed steadily once more.
Sanity soon found its way back into her mind.
"It takes a lot of energy to bring me back to another time frame…doesn't it?"
"You could say that…"
"…"
"L-Look, Rika. It's going to be alright." Hanyuu wished she could embrace and reassure her.
"It doesn't matter how long it takes, I'll always be with you and… we'll make it through this…I promise."
"What if it n-never happens?" Rika sobbed and stared up at her with glistening eyes.
"What if we never reach that so called happy future? And y-you run out of power…? Does that mean we'll both cease to exist?"
"No…even if we do fail, we'll just go…somewhere else. We won't be erased from the worlds. I'm sure of that."
The lies were so fake…
And sounded so pathetic.
But they were easier to tell.
Rika hung her head, and her long strands of blue hair fell in front of her dejectedly.
"I'm…sorry." She managed.
"Eh…?"
"For yelling at you like that…"
"…Oh. Don't worry about it, Rika! Au!" Hanyuu pulled the biggest smile she could.
"Everyone has their bad days."
"Bad days? You call THAT a reaction to a bad day? It's more like I exploded on you."
Hanyuu's mind suddenly clicked into place, and she pretended to pout.
"Oh great, wait until the higher ups hear about this. 'Oh Hanyuu, shame on you. She only wanted to live…and you EXPLODED her…shame on you.'"
"That's…what?" Rika glimpsed the mischievous glint in her ancestor's eyes and giggled.
Then they both burst out laughing.
Hanyuu gazed at Rika as her friend clutched her sides shakily, looking the happiest she had been since they first met.
And smiled warmly herself.
She only hoped that it wouldn't be the last time she would see Rika Furude smile.