Catch
She was knowledgeable in her situation in terms of movies and books. But in those, the main character always gets lucky. They hitch a ride with some kind person, who does all these extra things without asking for anything in return.
That does not happen in real life, she now knew that loud and clear. Many have offered with ill intentions, others have passed her by without even saying a word. Sumire was getting a large dose of reality while trying to hitchhike, but knew this had to be done.
She was the girl everyone thought was annoying, or shallow, or slutty. The snobby rich girl. But she wasn't really. She was just trying to make friends, and acted in a way she really wasn't. She was still a virgin from a middle class family after all.
But her parents bought all these cruel rumors about selling herself, or sleeping with anyone who asked. They gave her a lecture, and she bolted. Cowardly and very teenager, but it was the way she was taught to be.
Sumire did not know what she was going to do with her life, but she knew she couldn't go back. No, not to that suffering she had to call home. This hitchhike was going to change her life, and she was going to prove everyone wrong.
She sat down, sighing. Before all that, she had to actually get a ride.
She didn't know how long she had to sit down in the cold road. But before long, it was already at least 6:00. Just around the time she would usually have dinner. Yes, when her parents called her down and—
"Hey, need a ride?"
At first, she thought she was going delusional. Then, she looked up.
It was a man in the car, about her age (even though he tried to seem older and cooler). He seemed perfectly innocent, but she had to double check.
"What do you want with me?" a basic question asked to all, and most of the time, the answer wasn't to her satisfaction.
He just smiled, an easy smile that just seemed to roll on by, "Nothin' much. Just thought of how shitty the world's become, for no one to pick a girl up just to help 'er."
Sumire was somewhat amused, and decided she'd take a chance.
"Make some room for the lady, because I'm certainly not going into some pigsty of a car!"
He claimed to be a repairman of some sort, just drifting to find his next job to pay rent. He acted as if he knew the world—like some sort of intellectual. And in a sense, that was all true.
"I have a baby you know, her name is Easter." Was said in the middle of their conversation. She almost gasped, but stayed quiet and said one thing.
"What kind of name is Easter for a baby?"
"Well," he shrugged, "An old friend of mine loved the idea of Easter. Just loved it. So when I held her in my arms, I figured it was the perfect name. Wanna see a picture?"
She just nodded, and he took out his phone with one hand, browsing through pictures, "Here she is."
She looked at the picture of a kitten and sighed, "Cute kitty, Easter really is cute."
"I know she is."
They continued talking aimlessly for about ten more minutes, and he asked her if she was hungry.
She really was.
They ate at a cheap diner nearby his apartment. He said he always went here for breakfast, but never for dinner. She ate with vigor, knowing she hadn't touched food in over six hours. It was a strange feeling, because she kept on ordering greasy, unhealthy food. Stuff she would never eat if she was still at home. And he didn't seem to mind at all, only eating a burger and fries while she was stuffing her face.
"Wanna stay at my place?" was the last question he asked her that night.
She said yes, not questioning what's what anymore.
She felt strangely at home when she came to his apartment. It was homey, not too messy, and not too clean. Here, she didn't have those, 'You could do better' speeches. No, not at all.
She sat and played with Easter for a while, then went on his computer. Drifting, drifting, drifting until she got bored again.
There was a knock on the door.
She was nervous, yes. It could be the cops; it could be anyone. But for some reason, she was scared. So very scared. He seemed nervous as well, and held a gun firm in his hand.
Wait… How did he get a gun? No, it couldn't be. Not him, not—
The two, especially the boy, amused Sumire. Yes, there was something about him that was like a distant memory, and her anger melted like butter. So she wanted to be a little shallow, a little flirty, because this person could be the man in the car. The man who seemed to be the key to figuring out what happened before she died.
"Hmmm? Handsome guy and a newbie madé faierie gal? What kind of surprises will you bring me?"
The girl gasped, "Permy… It has to be Permy!"
The boy glanced at both of them, and Sumire felt a wave of irritation. What right did that idiot Mikan have to call her Permy? Didn't she tell her that—
Wait...how did she know that newbie's name was Mikan?
"How does the likes of a newbie faierie know me? And what are you doing near my territory? Well, I don't mind the hottie, so he can stay."
Raking her fingers against the boy's chest, Sumire laughed, "If you weren't hot, I would not be giving you two permission. But all you have to do is give me your name, and I won't force anything on you as you leave, hm?"
S seemed thoughtful, and spoke quickly, "No can do Permy! Because if we give his name to another competitor, we'll be in trouble! And since you clearly don't remember me, Permy, I'll just step in, permission be damned!"
Somehow, the boy didn't know who was freakier. This happy-go-lucky one turned weird, or an overly flirty one who almost managed to trick him into giving his name. But he could not dwell on those facts. He did know S had a lot of explaining to do before he threw her in whatever nearby incinerator he could find.
Hotaru actually seemed pleased.
N felt like it was nothing short of a miracle, even though she was casually eliminating teams without even leaving her home. After all, with her power, she could have him do all that for her. Smile and eliminate a team, without mentioning her at all. But while she was doing research on a few other teams, she asked him a question.
"Bunny boy, why is everyone making such a fuss about a faierie without a human?"
Faierie without a human was what they called him now, and many rumors were spreading. Hotaru said it was good news, while N did not appreciate being portrayed as a psychopath bunny humanoid faierie. But if there was another outside of common rumors…then he had no idea what to do next.
So he answered simply, "Because a faierie can get away with revealing some of his or her secrets, while for a human, a simple factor of height or age can easily give another faierie power to legibly control him or her. Sometimes, a faierie cares so much for a human that they'll go off on his or her own. The human can actually stay in Fay, as long as he or she follows the rules here. So, they'll live. Other times, it's a deal, more efficient. But there is one more scenario that is possible. And I have to warn you, it isn't very pretty."
Hotaru does not care for his warning, "Go ahead bunny boy. I've had enough of rainbows and sunshine to last my whole life."
N held back a comment about her not having nearly enough rainbows or sunshine, but decided to be the pacifist once again.
"There is the case where there simply is no human. A glitch in the system, or the faierie murdered their human out of sheer selfish feelings. But either way, it's very dangerous, because the main weakness of a team is gone, because there is no team. And for that to even happen, the faierie must be already powerful enough without a human… And we're talking about madé faieries here, that doesn't happen easily. Other types of faieries don't need humans."
"What do you mean by the madé faierie must be already powerful enough without a human?"
"Well…" N paused for a short while, debating to whether to tell her. "Madé faieries need the life energy of humans to live… We're not the purer faierie like a Good Folk or the pure faierie like an Elder, so if we don't need a human, we must either found a new life source or we found a way to sustain ourselves."
Hotaru was attentive, and very much observant. N continues.
"Anyway, that faierie without a human will become invincible, and no one, not even the highest fairies, have the ability to stop them."
DreamsWithJoy
