After the events that day, Makoto Itou's eyes had finally opened to the mess he had created. I'm in a dilemma. Kotonoha or Sekai? He sat down on the table, waiting for his girlfriend. She had gone to make some tea for them in the kitchen. Makoto sighed with an air of frustration. Sekai has my child. I love her. I should stay with her. I'll tell her as soon as she comes back. He heard the muffled ring of his cellphone from his pocket just as the teapot started singing in its high-pitched voice. Puzzled, he took it out of his pocket and flipped it open. It was a text message. Sekai? Why would she be texting me? Isn't she in the next room? He opened the message. His heart started racing as he read the only two words visible on the screen.
I'm Sorry
L
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L
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Makoto felt a shiver run down his spine, his feeling of uneasiness growing as he saw the sheer number of downward spaces. Holding his breath, he kept on scrolling down, trying to see if something else was written at the bottom.
L
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Goodbye
Makoto's heart jumped as the teapot's singing increased an octave. He felt a trickle of cold sweat run down the back of his neck. Goodbye? His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of the door crashing open. He wheeled around to be met with a stabbing pain to his middle. He fell over, trying to regain his balance despite the unbearable pain caused by the knife's blade embedded to the hilt in his chest. He tried to get a glimpse of his attacker. It's Sekai. Her face was unbearable, contorted with so many conflicting emotions; disappointment, love, pain, agony, torment, rage. Makoto felt his whole body relax and become unable to move as the blade once again found its way deep in his flesh. If this be my punishment, then so be it. What I did doesn't deserve forgiveness. Her voice was barely understandable through her sobs.
"You're so cruel!"
He flinched, the sheer emotion in the words cutting him deeper than the blade itself. He tried to move his hand, which gave a feeble twitch in response. The adrenaline coursing through his body gave him mobility again, but his mind was still floating deliriously elsewhere. Even though he knew he had enough strength to overpower her and make her regain her senses, he stayed there, getting stabbed again and again from one of his many lovers. I do deserve this, then? Blood spattered Makoto's face. He felt himself begin to float away from his body as everything started swimming out of view. Wait! The world came in focus again. He stared down at his body, then up at the beautiful girl beside him. He was with Sekai. He was inside her mind. Her pain pushed down on him on all sides. Don't you remember all our good times? He felt it. She was listening. They were looking at the same note passing, joking around, her teasing him, their first kiss, the pool, the bed, everything. I have to pull myself together. I have to tell her I'm sorry. That I love her. I must pull myself together. . . . Come on! He was inside his body again. I must tell her. His pain wasn't an obstacle anymore. He knew the end was near and it took every ounce of strength to draw a deep breath as he felt the knife plunge into his body again. He grabbed her arm, and tried to articulate what would be his last words.
"Sekai. . ."
She stopped stabbing him and looked at his face mesmerized. Makoto concentrated on a phrase as hard as he could, hoping his feelings would reach her one last time, but the words never left his lips.
"I love you. . ."
His whole body went numb. He heard a femenine voice twinkle inside his head. It sounded with a beauty not of this earth.
"It's time."
He looked one last time at Sekai, who was still staring at his body, mesmerized. He closed his eyes. I'm sorry. He felt himself whirl into nothingness, suddenly dropping like a stone in midair. He stopped abruptly. He opened his eyes. He saw nothing but blackness pressing him on each side. He stood up and looked around. He didn't feel nothing solid on his feet. It was like walking on air. A strange force compelled him to keep walking. He walked through the blackness, trudging through nothingness until he felt like collapsing. He looked up as something glinted into view. A blue glow was there in the distance, pulsing in an ever changing blue rainbow of many shades and hues. He ran to it. A lake, a refreshing turquoise jewel in the midst of suffocating black velvet. He sat down by it. It felt like hours, just staring at that curious body of water. A few small ripples appeared. Then more, and more. Soon, it was impossible for Makoto to even discern his reflection because of the light blue feathers that were falling on the lake. One of them floated really close to him and he picked it up. It was beautiful. It felt like he was holding silk. He looked up and saw a bright white light hovering in the middle of the lake. He stood up and took a step into the refreshing water. It was solid. He walked up to it and looked at the light. It was a beautiful woman, in light blue clothes. Her wings reached the floor and reached out curving beautifully into the glowing blue water. An angel. . . Feathers were dropping from her wings and into the lake. She looked down at him, but her face was hidden by the unearthly light from her bright blue halo.
"You've destroyed the hearts of maidens in your short life. Twisted their hearts into toys. No matter how young and foolish you are, you are now cursed. Cursed beyond reality. Your misfortune shall make you and all those who were close to you suffer."
Makoto felt tears appear in his eyes.
"Look into your reflection."
He looked down at the water and only saw a black silhouette looking at him. It reached out, enveloping all his body in suffocating blackness and pulling him down. Wait, he was soaring up. He opened his eyes. This is. . . .the school roof! He heard footsteps and turned around to see Kotonoha lunge at Sekai with a saw in her hand. Makoto reached out to stop her, but it was useless. His hands touched nothingness.
"No. . . . my child. . . "
She slashed her neck open. Makoto sunk to his knees.
"Must they pay for my sins?"
He opened his eyes to see he was back on the lake with the goddess. Her numerous golden bracelets with weird markings jangled together. She turned around and pointed. Makoto looked to see a great golden tree with leaves of diamond had materialized out of thin air. There was someone under it. He walked closer and saw it was a girl holding something to her chest. It was Sekai. She was wearing a paper thin dress of the purest white. She was suckling a baby wrapped in the same white cloth. She smiled at Makoto. Makoto brushed the baby who had his very own hair. It stopped suckling and veered around to look at his father. Makoto pulled his hand away and fell to his knees.
It was a disfigured baby. Grotesque; malformed. His cry was distorted as to not sound human, for the fetus had still not developed sufficiently. He forced himself to look at his face. He had Sekai's eyes. He kept being pulled into them. Once again he had the feeling he was going somewhere on Earth again. So that's my punishment,huh? I have to see everyone's ending and then how they come here.
Kokoro woke up from her bed thinking of angels and lakes and blue feathers. What a wierd dream. . . Her Big Sister hadn't been herself since she came back from her boat trip a few months ago. She was always locked in her room. She didn't eat or sleep. She didn't even laugh or cry or show any emotion except to smile sweetly at her closet. When the news came that her boyfriend was dead, she only smiled and said that he was still here with us. Kokoro stood up and sleepily walked out of her room to get a glass of water. She heard a crash and looked out the window. A colorful ceramic heart she had made in school for her sister had fallen from where she put it on the balcony outside her room. It shattered into countless rainbow pieces, forming a powdered heart on the street outside.
She ran up to her big sister's room, worried she might be hurt. She opened the door and burst in.
"Oneesan. . ."
She looked back and smiled at her. Her figure was dilapidated. There wasn't a hint left of who she was half a year ago. Her eyes had black circles around them from countless sleepless nights. Her long flowing hair was now wild and tangled. She was unbelievably thin, skin stretched tight over a tormented skeleton.
"Take care of yourself when you do get a boyfriend, okay?"
"Oneesan!"
She closed her eyes peacefully and let herself drop from the thirty second floor balcony. Kokoro was in shock. This can't be happening! She ran out into the balcony and looked down. Her sister was there on the concrete outside of her house. She turned around and saw something on top of her bed. A faded blue duffelbag. It was open. Everytime she was in her sister's room, she always looked at the closet. Now its door was open. She peered inside.
A skull, with empty eye sockets and an eternal grin. But what took Kokoro's breath away wasn't the skull's smile. . .
"It has Big Brother's Hair!"
Kokoro dropped silently to the floor, crying.
Makoto felt the sinking feeling again and looked back at the smiling Sekai.
"No, not Kotonoha! WHY!"
He was only greeted by Sekai's laughter at him. Makoto lunged at her but his fingers passed through thin air. Sekai laughed even harder, making the jagged rip on her neck gape at him.
The goddess shook her head, making her long brown hair ripple in slow undulating movements.
"YOU started it. YOU caused this. . . It's YOUR fault."
A golden glow suddenly pulsed through the whole place. The black velvet seemed to turn into golden silk for a small moment. He looked back to see blood red roses rise around the light, obscuring it from the outside world. Kotonoha! He sprinted toward the rose cage and tried to find a way through. He tried to get in through the pearl gates that were around it but two winged seraphim armed with flaming swords negated his entrance. He walked around and put two big roses aside, ignoring the piercing pain of the thorns sinking deeply into his arms and hands. The white light was innocent Kotonoha. The one who suffered the most. Pure white wings appeared on her back. Her face was even more beautiful than he remembered. She had blue triangle markings on her forehead and cheeks. She started singing in a beautiful voice, sending ripples in the air, making blue feathers drop from the sky.
Since when did you land? My blue angel…
If you'd notice, I'm only staring at your face from the side.
Ah, able to do nothing but looking down in our passing smiles
I called out over my back just now in my heart.
It's like the snow, the innocent pains fall and accumulate
Even if it's a roundabout way, I want to send my thoughts straight to you.
My honest feelings and courage were hidden in hesitation;
everyone should have the key to the closed door.
Ah, I softly try tracing your footsteps,
now I collect the stardust that I wished upon in a small bottle.
It's like the waves, a pain that draws up and pulls away ceaselessly.
The tears broken and scattered in the wind, that's right, are pieces of my suffering.
It's like the snow, the innocent pains fall and accumulate.
At last, it seems that I'll be able to find my love, my own place
Take off someday, my blue angel…
Her pure desires, her innocent being. Her unjust death. All these have turned her into a goddess. He felt tears come to his eyes again. He didn't notice that the thorns piercing into his arm were starting to bloom, roses covering his arms and legs, piercing him everywhere with their thorns. They lifted him from the ground and kept going higher. For the first time, he really felt like dying. One of the seraphim flew up to him all six wings bright white interwoven with ribbons of gold. He stayed there looking at him, his face hidden by a white mask. Makoto could see his eyes, they were void of emotion; cold and unforgiving. He spoke in a booming voice that resonated inside his very soul.
"Your punishment is over. Say the wise thing now and you'll be forgiven."
Kotonoha flew up to him in her new wings and looked at him adoringly.
"You can do it, Itou-kun. . ."
Makoto breathed in hard, ignoring the sharp pain of thorns impaling his chest. Scarlet tears were streaming down his face.
"Kotonoha, I always loved you and you only. It was you. . ."
His words were cut short as the seraphim's flaming sword ran through his chest.
Even now, two years after writing this fanfic, I feel deeply emotional reading this. I thank all of you for writing such delightful stories that motivate me to answer with my own. It is truly a privilege most exquisite to have readers enjoy your work. My deepest thanks goes to you, who having enjoyed so much the School Days story as I have, has read this small precious one shot gem of my collection. Thank you, and please do not forget to review. ~Eros~