Chapter 2 - Adieu to My Dearest Friend
Mei sat alone in the snowy field, shuddering as the cold nipped at her nose and hands. The early afternoon was chillier than normal, but she preferred to sit by herself, rather than waste her energy on snowball fights or races.
"What's up with her?" muttered a boy, ushering his group of friends away from her.
Mei had never felt so lonely.
Her dazed eyes landed on Hyuu, who was standing in the middle of a group of boys, hands shoved into his pockets and a sneer on his face. She quickly lowered her eyes as he glanced at her direction, not wanting to attract attention again.
"Well, lookie here. It's the donut-headed loser."
Mei jolted up, looking around wildly for her assailants. When she found none, she curled back up into a ball, nose burrowed in between her knees.
"Guess Hyuu finally opened his eyes."
"Yeah, who'd want to hang out with an annoying brat like her?"
"I can't believe he put up with her for so long."
Mei shut her eyes, pleading for the memories to go away. I can't let them get to me...I just need to wait it out...
"Hey, it's the shrimp," shouted a girl's voice from behind her.
Mei started and whirled around as she saw a group comprising of about ten girls advancing toward her threateningly. She recognized a few of the girls as Hyuu's friends, one grade above her own. Many of them had a sneer on their faces. She didn't recognize any of the members from her previous bully encounters.
"L-leave me alone...please," squeaked Mei, scrambling back as the group ascended toward her.
"Leave me alone, please," mimicked the girl nearest to her mockingly. "What a joke."
"Why are you doing this?" whimpered Mei, peering up at the multiple looming faces of the seniors.
"Maybe you don't know this, runt, but we've been wanting to pay you back for keeping Hyuu-san all to yourself. Aren't you the least ashamed of yourself, you measly whore?" spat a girl with curly blonde hair.
"What are you talking about?" asked Mei, her cheeks flushing red as her anger rose.
"Believe it or not, Hyuu-san's quite popular in the senior class. A stupid lowerclassman like you shouldn't be able to charm him in any way. What did you do, huh? Show off your flat ass? Or maybe you did something else?" sneered the blonde-haired girl.
Mei couldn't find her voice. "Are you implying...?" she asked, her voice low and menacing.
"The only way you could've gotten him to even pay attention to you was to sleep with him. Did you blackmail him into doing it? He probably got bored; that's why he's not paying attention to a slutbag like you any more..."
"Shut the fuck up!" screamed Mei, bolting up and slapping the girl across the face with alarming strength. "You shut your filthy mouth up right fucking now!"
"You bitch!" hissed the girl, aiming a vicious kick to Mei's shin. She leaped back, eyes aflame with anger, ready to take on the entire group.
"So the shrimp wants a fight? Get her, Hina!"
The tallest girl of the group stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. Mei paled as she recognized the star of the school's track-and-field team. Not only were her legs strong from jumping hurdles, her arms were toned and muscular from throwing shot put. One swing from either of her limbs would knock her flat.
So Mei, sensing an escape route to her right, ran.
Hina was much faster than Mei, but she hadn't expected for her prey to flee. She growled and sprinted toward the retreating figure, who had already bolted across half of the school's recess court. Mei felt her heart pumping as adrenaline coursed throughout her body. She thought she had escaped to safety, in the midst of her schoolmates, when suddenly -
"Ouch!"
Hina had caught on to one of her twintails. The other students scattered as they avoided the path of the charging senior. She twisted the lock of hair so hard that Mei yelped in pain. Mei braced herself as Hina kicked her right leg, sending her sprawling to the ground.
The rest of the group had caught up, with the blonde-haired girl leading. She ran up and kicked Mei in the stomach, causing the junior to scream and curl up into a ball.
The rest of the students went silent as they heard Mei's cry. They looked toward the seniors, frightened and unwilling to take action.
"Stop it...stop it!" sobbed Mei, recoiling as the girls held her down. The blonde-haired girl straddled Mei's struggling body and curled up her fingers into a fist.
"Who taught you to disrespect your elders, you little bitch? Here's a lesson you won't forget."
The blow to her face knocked her head into the snow. Stars flashed in front of Mei's eyes as she watched the girl's fist descend again and again. Her cheeks felt as if they were cracking.
"What are you doing to Mei-chan?! Stop it!" screamed a familiar voice.
"Let go of her, Rika-san! I'm reporting you to the teachers if you don't stop it right now!"
"Why are you punching her?! Get off her!"
Mei felt tears of gratitude rise in her eyes as the voices of her schoolmates split through the silence. The crowd of students rose against the seniors. Rika managed to rake her fingers across Mei's cheek, drawing blood, before the juniors pulled her off.
"Mei-chan! Mei-chan! Are you okay?!"
Shiro was always so nice. She smiled up at her classmate's concerned face, trying to ignore the searing pain all over her body. "I'm alright," she managed to choke out, before bursting into tears of frustration.
"Those bastards," cursed Shiro. "They wouldn't even act before I ran in. I'll go get the nurse, okay? Here, I'll help you-"
"She can go herself."
Mei and Shiro both quailed as a familiar blue-haired figure towered over them. Shiro recovered quickly, however, and yelled,
"Who are you to talk?! She's been injured because you can't keep those fangirls of yours in check."
"Why should I have anything to do with them? They're ugly, stupid, and worthless. I've never had any previous interactions with them, so stop trying to act justified by blaming me."
"That doesn't matter! I'm taking her to the nurse so she can teach those bullies justice-"
"Oh, really? I wonder what Mei has to say about that."
Hyuu sneered as he met Mei's eyes. "Too weak to tell them alone, shrimp? Or maybe you're just scared that you'll get beat up more if you tell the teachers?"
Mei gritted her teeth as she pushed Shiro's hand aside. "He's right," she muttered. "I can pass off my injuries as something else, but if news spreads it's going to make me look like the bad guy. I slapped Rika-san first..."
"But-" protested Shiro.
"Quit it," she snapped to Shiro, wiping away her tears. "If you want to help me, make sure news doesn't spread. I'm sure you can use your authority as class president to establish that. As for you," she hissed to Hyuu, "get the hell out of my way. I'm sick of your stupid cool-guy act. Just leave me alone."
Mei felt a spark of triumph flare in her heart as she saw both males taken aback by her harsh words. Shiro lowered his eyes and stepped back, but Hyuu continued to stand there defiantly. She saw a flash of confusion in Hyuu's eyes that quickly turned to anger.
"I don't remember you trying to boss me around, you little brat."
Almost crying with frustration, Mei stomped her foot. "I'm so tired of you, Hyuu! I just wish you and your stupid senior friends would just go away! You were...you were..." she faltered, her voice cracking with strain.
"I was what?" sneered Hyuu, crossing his arms.
"...You were once my friend. My dearest friend, who I could trust with my life. But now... I don't know if I ever want to see you again."
Turning before she could see Hyuu's reaction, she opened the school doors and fled through the hallway. As the adrenaline wore off, she felt the pain from the attack redouble in her limbs and face, and was forced to limp to the school nurse. Against her will, she started to cry, her small hiccups echoing in the empty hallways.
"Stupid bullies," she muttered, sniffing as she made her way into the nurse's office.
Mei left before any of the other students, claiming to have a stomachache. As soon as she exited the classroom, she walked over swiftly to the school entrance and left. She was halfway to her house by the time the school bell rang.
Usually, at this time, Mei would be walking home with Hyuu, eventually reaching his apartment. His place was only a block away from her own house, so it was common for her to stay over to do homework and play with his little sister. Ever since the destruction of the garden, Mei hadn't been to Hyuu's house.
Mei walked up the steps to the building, only to realize that she had unconsciously walked herself to Hyuu's apartment. Gritting her teeth, she turned around and jogged over to her house, her heavy books bouncing around in her bookbag as she ran.
"My goodness, Mei! What happened to you?!" exclaimed Mei's mother as her battered daughter walked through the front door.
Mei's house was a small, one-story building with a vegetable garden, situated near a small pond. The tiled bamboo floors were clean, and the beige walls and minimal amount of furniture gave the house a cozy and comfortable air.
"I...uh...slipped on ice! It's pretty dangerous out there," lied Mei quickly.
"Ice? But how did you get those gashes on your face? Were you attacked by a Pokemon?!"
"No, I...fell into the gully by the school...and I cut my face on a rock. Four rocks."
"I see...well, I'm glad to see that you're not permanently injured! You have to be more careful," scolded Mei's mother.
The phone rang before Mei could sigh in relief. Mei's mother rushed over to pick it up.
As Mei's mother listened, her cheery countenance rapidly faded and her face acquired a pale tone. Her usual smile transformed into an 'o' of surprise, and she held up one hand to her mouth in shock.
"Mom? What's wrong?" asked Mei, alarmed.
"Okay...I see...Thank you, Granny. Mei," she said in a trembling voice, "Go to Old Granny's place right now, okay? She has to tell you something."
"What is it?" demanded Mei, bolting upright. "Is it something about me?"
"No, no... Granny will be able to explain it. Go on, shoo! It's urgent!"
Mei bolted out the front door, racing across the streets of Aspertia City so fast that it felt like the wind was throbbing in her ears. The layer of old snow crunched satisfyingly underneath her feet. She felt a strange sensation of dread in her stomach, as if she had eaten something rotten.
Granny's apartment was even farther away from Mei's house than Hyuu's place. When she finally stopped at the front door, she felt the cramps in her side intensify, along with the feeling of apprehension. Panting, she knocked on the door, ignoring the curious stares of the passerby in the area.
"Granny...? You wanted...to see me?" huffed Mei as the door creaked open.
"No time for pleasantries, child. Hyuu's gone missing!"
After school, the seniors went out to go sledding. They had forced the lowerclassmen off the steepest hill that was only a few miles' walk from the school. The boys were huddling in a group, joking around and guffawing. The few girls that had accompanied them were giggling and shoving each other. Hyuu wrinkled his nose at the girls and turned away.
Hyuu had found himself in the midst of the popular seniors after he'd stopped talking to Mei about three weeks ago. The boys found that Hyuu was the first to always make crude, heartless remarks about other people - whether it was hurtful or not, the boys always laughed at his wit. The girls remained unfazed after being turned down by Hyuu multiple times, and were always trailing behind him expectantly. Hyuu scoffed at both - the boys, he found, were idiotic simpletons, while the girls were self-absorbed pigs.
He had felt uneasy for the past three weeks, but he couldn't find the reason for his particular feeling. He had indulged in reckless games and dares in the meantime, trying to distract his mind from the emotion. It was almost akin to forgetting something; he felt as if he needed to search for something important. Sometimes he felt as if there were two emotions - one filled him with anxiety, while the other made him jittery with anticipation.
And today. He had spoken to Mei again. He couldn't remember any conversations with Mei before he destroyed the flower garden. He couldn't remember why he had even spoken to Mei. It was as if he was missing a large portion of the puzzle piece that made up his life. The way Mei had spoken only increased Hyuu's feeling of anxiety.
"...You were once my friend. My dearest friend, who I could trust with my life. But now... I don't know if I ever want to see you again."
The way she spoke...it was almost as if she had said goodbye.
He snapped out of his daze when a senior boy called his name.
"Hyuu-san! Why don't you sled down first? You're not chicken, right?"
"You call this little slope a hill? This is pathetic," scoffed Hyuu, dropping his sled to the ground and sitting himself on it.
As he did so, his right eye twitched of its own accord. He paid little attention to it as he sat and dug his fingers into the snow.
"C'mon, Hyuu-san! You can do it," screeched the girls from the hill.
The cold air stung at his lungs as he breathed in. Suddenly, from behind him, a group of senior boys pushed the sled, yelling at the top of their lungs and hooting.
"What the-"
The sled careened off the worn sledding track, and Hyuu's sled skidded down the hill sideways. His gloved hands gripped the handles of his sled tightly as his sled slid over rocks and chunks of ice. He managed to catch the sound of a girl screaming from the top of the hill as the wind whistled in his ears.
Hyuu's eyes widened as he realized he would be crashing into the forest trees on either side of the hill. He hurriedly put his right leg out and swerved to the side, barely stopping beside the trees.
He staggered up, cursing. His ears felt as if they were burning, and the lack of wind rushing past him made him feel dizzy.
"Hyuu-san! You okay?!" yelled a boy from the top of the hill.
He was about to reply when a burning cold emerged from the clearing in front of him. He turned, mouth agape, to witness the sudden formation of a blizzard. The wind carried up flecks of ice that burned as they whipped at his face.
He felt his legs move by himself as he drew closer to the heart of the sudden storm. Something told him that he would find something inside the storm. The yells of the seniors slowly faded away as he continued to walk closer and closer to the center of the blizzard. He barely caught the words of a desperate boy's voice as he continued to walk.
"Hyuu-san! Don't go into the blizzard! Haven't you heard of the Fr..."
The boy's voice trailed away as Hyuu made his way through the storm of ice and wind. His left eye moved sluggishly, while his right eye hungrily scanned the storm, searching for any signs of interest. He shut his left eye and depended solely on his right eye, eventually detecting a glowing blue figure in the midst of the blizzard.
"Come here, boy," whispered a tantalizing voice in Hyuu's mind.
As if taken over by an outside force, he was drawn to the glowing light. He saw that there were actually two blue lights in the midst of the storm that made up a veiled figure's eyes. It was surrounded by a cloak of the iciest snow, which swirled around at unparalleled speed and hit with enough force to puncture Hyuu's skin.
The figure lowered her defensive stance, and the fierce blizzard around her quickly subsided. In its place stood the evil specter herself. Hyuu would originally have run from the sight of such a terrible, ghostly face. But with his altered vision, he could only see beauty and radiance in the otherwise eerie spirit.
"You have finally come, my pet," the spirit crooned, raising both arms in welcome.
"Why am I here?" he croaked, his lips working hard to form words in the freezing cold.
"Stupid boy...I have not summoned you for your body. In your eye is a fragment of my masterpiece. The accursed god Arceus shattered it with his power, and sent the shards hurtling down to earth. As such, a piece of my ice mirror became embedded in your eye, and caused you to see what the gods themselves saw: grotesque, twisted images of even the loveliest figure! That very ice formed my body, which is why you yearned to come here. My dearest, join me once again...after I gain dominion over you, we shall become one and grow even more powerful than before!"
Hyuu felt a strange yearning awaken in himself, and his feet moved with the sole purpose of drawing closer to the spirit. However, he couldn't bring himself to touch the white skin of the spirit.
Her eyes narrowed, and a threatening wind whipped up the snow around her feet.
"As the ice becomes embedded in living flesh, its evil properties spread throughout the body and taint the soul. As of now, I can see that your heart has not yet been taken over. But that will be taken care of shortly. Ice Beam!"
Hyuu felt his body freeze as sudden cold enveloped the already-freezing area. The spirit put her hands together to form a bizarre, pulsating light blue ball. Suddenly, a beam of pure ice shot out from the ball, aiming directly at Hyuu's heart. He felt his vision darken as he fell to his knees. The world spun around him, and he felt a horrible, numbing cold creep into his bones.
There was something he was forgetting. Something incredibly, dearly important to him. But the cold nipped at his brain and forced him to leave his thoughts. He found that if he focused on something - the spirit, the snow, his own hands - he soon forgot about it. He opened his mouth in an attempt to form words, but the only thing that issued from his throat was a long, pained moan.
"That's right...now, I'm sorry for this. But I cannot afford to have you awake during our trip. You would most likely scream and cry, and that wouldn't do, would it? Confuse Ray!"
The figure's eyes glowed a bright purple as it stared into Hyuu's eyes. His entire body grew limp as he fell to the snowy earth. The excruciating cold was no longer so painful to him. He longed to fall into a deep slumber, but his mouth continued to form words.
"Who...you?" he slurred, trying desperately to raise his head.
The spirit towered above him, a horrid smile on her face. "I am the Frost Queen. I control the icy frost, govern the winter storms, and command the very ice itself. Be grateful, disgusting human, for gracing you with my presence. So long as the shard remains in your eye, I cannot remove it. It must destroy its human host before returning to its original master. I shall do my best to serve you a death worthy of my masterpiece."
Hyuu felt his body being lifted up by a strange force. He noted dully that the spirit's eyes were still glowing with the malicious purple light. For a split second, he realized what he had been forgetting. The thing - no, person - dearest to him, before the shard had pierced his eye. Mei's happy face, her beautiful smile, her sparkling eyes...
"Mei...I'm sorry," he whispered, before letting the cold drag him into a dreamless sleep.
A/N: I feel like the chapters are getting longer the more I write. School starts tomorrow, so I might not have time to write as much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Remember to review, and please follow if you'd like to read more! I'll try my best to keep working on this :)
(by the way...what a dramatic title, right? I really hope it suits the chapter :P)
.~*LadyMeiLian*~.