Hiho, Kurokishinjitsu here~ I had idea for this fanfic really long time ago. I was inspired mostly by Higanbana No Saku Yoru Ni music and somethings. I also want to thank renahh chen for corrections ;-; thank you so much~
I hope you will enjoy!
"Mom... You always liked spider lilies, right?"
"Hey, mom… Why are these flowers so strange?" the small boy asked curiously, looking at the beautiful scarlet flowers with his big, innocent eyes. A large field filled with spider lilies was lying before him.
"They're not strange, sweetheart. They're really pretty," said the young woman kneeling next to him. Her blonde locks looked like pure gold, lightly falling around her cheeks. "They're called spider lilies."
The boy's eyes widened slightly and he backed away.
"Spider lilies? That means spiders live inside them? T-that's scary!"
The woman giggled quietly as she looked at him. "No, no. There are no spiders, don't worry. They are so beautiful, yet fragile..."
She gently touched one of the flowers- but the boy grabbed hold of her shoulder, clenching his small fist around it.
"So… spiders aren't living in there...? So why they are named like that? Why can't they have a normal, not scary name?"
"How is it a scary name? 'Spider lily' isn't scary at all..." She smiled. "They are my favorite flowers~ You know why?"
The boy didn't know. He looked into her eyes, waiting for her answer. The woman smiled at this and patted his head, after giving him a small peck on the forehead.
"It's because they remind me of you. You are my most precious treasure. Every time I see spider lily I think 'Oh! It's like I'm seeing my small son!' And inside my mind I see you. Your laughing face and eyes which have the color of the sea... Uhuhu~"
The boy's eyes opened wider than before, but he remained silent.
Everything was quiet and tranquil. At least, until…
"Asumuuuu! I'm back~!"
They could hear voice from distance. After while, a tall man holding two ice-creams stood before them.
"Here. For you, honey. Vanilla. And for Battler..." He kneeled before boy. "Strawberry. Just like you wan~ted, riiiight here."
But the small child still didn't answer.
"Battler? Hey, I've got the ice-creams?" asked Rudolf with a worried voice. "… …Asumu, what happened to him? He looks about a million miles away."
Asumu tilted her head to one side, blinking at her son.
"Honey? Are you heree?" She waved her hand before his eyes. And then, to Rudolf, she said, "I was only telling him about the spider lilies, dear."
But when the wind blew Battler suddenly raised hands, waving them energetically along with wind.
Rudolf and Asumu both blinked in confusion at this bizarre scene. They looked at him with worried and amused faces.
"Ah..?" asked Asumu.
"Flower," was Battler's simple response.
His mother tried again, voice light and gentle. "…What?"
"I'm a flower."
Silence.
Rudolf looked at Asumu suspiciously, and she, in turn, looked at him.
"It's because mom said I'm a flower!" Battler finally deigned to explain, in a matter-of-fact tone. "A spider lily! She said it, she said it!"
And he pointed his finger accusingly at Asumu's forehead.
"Ah...? I didn't mean it like that, exactly… Did you misunderstand, honey?" asked a bemused Asumu. "Hn… This isn't good… not good at all… … Maybe I'm no good at explaining things…"
But, after a while, she and Rudolf exploded with laughter. This situation was just simply hilarious. Well, they couldn't blame Battler for not understanding Asumu's words. He was only five years old. They hugged him and explained everything.
But, sadly, Battler's ice-cream decided it didn't like its waffle cone, and halfway through the explanation it fell in a sticky mess onto Rudolf's pants. It wasn't enough to dampen the cheerful atmosphere, however.
At that time… they truly were a happy family, who didn't care what happened around them.
It was just another one of those good old days.
Old days...
"Battler-sama...? The g-game is waiting for you..."
The quiet voice came just a little behind Battler; drifting across the large rose garden… or maybe field would have been a better term. Like a field, it seemed almost endless. An endless space filled with golden roses. Nobody could count them. Nobody would even try; it would be a waste of time… even though, in a place like this, time did not flow as it should have done.
Golden Land.
This place was filled with golden roses, which might have been how it got its name… for there wasn't anything in that field more attractive than the flowers. The sky wasn't even pretty- it was almost pitch-black. There was no sun. The roses were the only source of precious light there.
"Battler-sama...? Please, come back to game room… Your opponent is getting really angry..." said the black-haired stake with a terrified voice.
Of course she was terrified. She had good reason to be. The man stood before her wasn't the Battler that she had once known. His appearance was different. It was a lot darker now- and far more threatening.
Was he the true Ushiromiya Battler?
Of course. What a foolish question. He was Ushiromiya Battler, from bone and flesh.
His mind, however, was different. It was blank and empty, like his already rotten heart. Nobody could see or try to guess what he was thinking about. He was always making unexpected moves. Like a wild animal, he waited for the best and most deadly moment to attack- even if that meant he would spill blood all over his hands and clothes.
"Battler-sama...? Please...I-it's not like I'm giving you an order but..." Her voice was shaking. She clenched her hands on her skirt.
She was scared. This man was monster in human skin. But she, as his obedient furniture, couldn't speak of him in such a manner. She couldn't say anything bad about her owner.
And, finally, the one she talked to looked at her. His eyes, red like hers', gave her a sharp look.
"Lucifer."
His voice echoed around the field of golden roses, making the girl tremble.
"Y-yes...? Battler-sama...?"
"The roses... Do you like them?"
That question was really unexpected. He was a walking mystery. Why was he asking such things?
"Eh? Roses..? Um…" She looked at them and nodded. "Yes… they are pretty…?"
"You are mistaken, furniture Lucifer."
Gulp.
"W-why am I mistaken? Those roses are beautiful...! They are one of a kind! Only here, in the fantastic Golden Land, are you able to see th-"
"No, they're ugly."
"U...ugly...?" She looked at him in confusion. "W-what do you find so ugly, Battler-sama…?"
He turned again to roses and knelt before one, tearing it quickly from ground. He didn't even care that his hands started to bleed when the cruel thorns ripped into his skin.
"Battler-sama! Your hands...!"
He ignored her, and instead shoved the picked rose before her face. She blushed instantly.
Was he...giving her it? But why...? Why would he give a rose to such lowly furniture like her...?
"B...a...B..battler...sama...?"
"This is ugly. You see..?" he said softly.
She looked at golden rose. Its petals looked soft and gentle, yet fragile at the same time.
"..."
Lucifer couldn't say anything. Her opinion was still unchanged. She really liked those golden roses; she always had done. They gave her a warm feeling inside her chest. So lovely, so peaceful…
"You're not thinking about disagreeing with me, are you? How rude. I know what you are thinking, mere furniture. Hah-!"
He threw the rose into the sky, and it flickered. The flower suddenly changed its shape and color at this sudden action; the changed form falling through the sky and landing once more in his hands.
"Look at this."
Battler showed her flower; smiling.
"… …Yes. It's an amaryllis. A spider lily," he said, more gently than usual. "Now… This is beautiful, right? This is a truly pretty flower… no?"
Lucifer nodded nervously. What the hell he was talking about?
Battler stared into her eyes intently.
"You agree with me?"
"Y...yes... It's really...beautiful..."
He nodded.
"Heh. I'm glad you liked it. But you know what?" He gestured towards the field of golden roses. "I want those ugly flowers to change, too. Change into something beautiful, something more like… more like this. This scarlet is the same color as the purest blood. You know that my mom loved those flowers...?"
As he said this, his smile widened; becoming unusually sweet and soft.
Lucifer couldn't help but smile, too.
"I'm glad that you still remember your mother, Battler-sama. That's a nice story. But..." her smiled faded "You cannot change those golden roses into these red flowers. After all, it is called the Golden Land for the reason. That roses must be gold. It's a law that was created since beginning..." she explained. "F-forgive me…"
But Battler was still looking at the changed flower in his hand, and did not move an inch.
"That… … that's useless…" he said quietly. "The color of these flowers is hurting my eyes. So much gold… it's disgusting. It reminds me of them," he suddenly spat sharply.
Gulp.
"T-Them...? Who do you mean...Battler-sama?" she asked hesitantly.
The only thing that answered her was a strong wind, that picked up the rose petals and made them dance in the air. Ushiromiya Battler remained silent.
Ah… His silence was beginning to annoy her. She might have been frightened before, but Lucifer, as proud furniture, could not stand to be ignored. He was an idiot! Why was he letting his opponent wait for so long? His rudeness would only reflect badly on her, too! How ridiculous! How foolish!
Flowers? How old was he? If he wanted to collect flowers he should just leave, go somewhere else! This place only had golden roses! It was stupid to want to change them! Lucifer, as a Stake of Purgatory, would not allow such a thing!
"Stupid..."
But, when she realized she had said it out loud, her body froze.
She looked at Battler with terrified eyes.
"Heh...As I thought. You didn't listen to me."
Suddenly, the flower held in his hands was enveloped with an ominous violent fog.
Lucifer bowed deeply, shoulders trembling.
"P-please… I-I'm begging for forgiveness, Battler-sama… I-I… I apologize…!"
She couldn't even look at his face straight. Oh god, s-she had failed, hadn't she? She had made a huge mistake! As furniture, how could she say something like that to her master?
She was scared.
She felt tears forming in corners of her eyes. Tears of embarrassment.
H-her other sisters would surely tease her for this…
That is, they would… … if Battler took pity on her, and let her live despite her insolence… …
"Raise your head, useless paperweight. Now. It's an order," he said coldly; careless of her fear.
Lucifer obeyed his command. She could do nothing else.
When she saw what was in his hands, she gasped.
It was a big black sword with golden marks on its blade.
She opened her eyes, terrified.
"Don't be so scared Lucifer. I know what you thought. I'm glad that even furniture has its own opinion of me- even if it doesn't really mean all that much~ Good! Very good!" He pointed sword at her forehead "I will return to my opponent only when you have fulfilled one condition."
Lucifer bit her lip.
"W-what is it...?"
He gave her small nod, smirking cruelly.
"Make those flowers prettier… won't you?"
"H-hngh… a-aaaah…? W-what…?"
Lucifer's eyes narrowed in anger; her earlier fear dissipating in another burst of self-righteous anger. W-what was this? What the hell was this? So he wanted her to be his gardener or something? That wasn't her job! She was Lucifer, a Stake of Purgatory, and tending to stupid roses was something below her; s-she was better than that, she-
Aaah…
She… she understood…
Yes. The spider lilies… really were very red, weren't they…? And how could Battler turn these golden roses that beautiful hue…?
It was simple, really.
"Aah... I understand. I understand clearly Battler-sama." A sharp, violet blade formed on her arm. "I will fulfil your wish. And you will return to your opponent. That is the role of furniture, after all; to make their owners happy."
Battler's lips curved into evil grin.
"Yes...I wanted to hear it from your mouth, Lucifer, the eldest of the Sisters of Purgatory! Now! Fulfil my wish!"
After short silence they both rushed on each other.
The sound of blades echoed on the golden battlefield.
It ended as fast as it began.
The blood that flowed from Lucifer's body sprayed golden roses, making them red. It was too predictable that she would lose. Her power was far weaker than his. After all, he was a monster in human skin; the only one who had been able to escape from the cruelty of the theatergoing witches who had caged him.
Massacre in theater was a popular topic in many witches latest tea parties. His legend was still alive. He was still dreadful and frightening.
And he still hadn't ended the show.
Ushiromiya Battler.
Black Battler.
That was his true name now. He was not a human anymore.
Not now.
"Hm… …Pathetic. But you fulfilled my wish perfectly. Good job… the ex Lucifer of Purgatory."
The roses didn't look gold anymore. There was sprayed with blood.
Just like the spider lilies his mother had liked so much.
Red.
"Hah...Are you satisfied now, mom..? Look… Those flowers aren't so ugly anymore. I made them beautiful, just for you." He smiled. "Red flowers, that you always loved."
Spider lilies.
"I'm sorry for taking such long break… Lady Higanbana," said Battler as he appeared in game room.
On seat before him was a small girl with crow-black hair and a beautiful dress. Her skin was pale, her eyes wide. She looked exactly like a china doll.
"Fufufu... That's not problem at all- although I was getting a little bit bored." She smiled. "I see you had a lot of fun with that paperweight, didn't you? I can smell the fresh scent of blood from here. And yet… Ehehe~ I feel something different…"
Battler went to her and gave her something. It was a spider lily; the same one he had shown Lucifer earlier.
"Ooh… for me?" asked Higanbana, giggling. "That's rather unexpected… The legendary monster, Ushiromiya Battler, is giving me flowers? How flattering…~"
"I prefer not to be called a monster, so stop it," he said sharply. "This is a present. And… it is also an invitation to a game. Keep the flower with you, Lady Higanbana, and nothing will happen to you…"
He smirked.
"So. You've chosen your pieces already?"
She gave him small nod.
"Yes. I prepared everything. I was just waiting for you, Black Battler. A game can't progress without a Game Master, after all."
"Of course. I know that much."
As Battler spoke he began to inspect a small book lying on the table between them. He picked it up and slowly began to flip through the pages.
On The Night the Spider Lily Cries.
"It's a lovely title," said Higanbana placidly, smiling. "Did you prepare this game board just for me?"
"Yes… something like that. I hope you will like it."
"Hey, mom. I brought you the flowers that you like. I know you can't answer me, but… you always said that these spider lilies reminded you of me, didn't you? And, you know what… now I feel the same way! These flowers remind me of you, too…
"Always… even now. Even when you aren't here anymore…"
"…Mom."