Chapter 9 – Violent Violet

A few days after Christmas I was back at Haruka's office with her and the doctor once again. We got the call that the results were in from the last test I did. And I was nervous as hell to find out why I can breathe fire all of a sudden.

Is it really because of what happened all those years ago?

"So what's the word, Doc? Anything life-threating?" Haruka asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say life-threating. But the fact that you can breathe fire Ayano is indeed caused by the curse."

"*sigh* I knew it. No way this was just a random thing. And I bet it's going to affect my arms, too."

"Your arms?" Both adults asked.

"Well…back during Christmas, the marks on my arms started glowing all of a sudden. Thing is, they were the only ones glowing. And then they just stopped all of a sudden."

"That…is odd." Haruka said.

And then right when she said it, I felt the same tingle as I did that very same night. It was happening again. My arms and only my arms were glowing. And this time, there wasn't an end in sight.

"Gah! Th-Th pain! I-It's too much! I…I…I…"

"Ayano! Are you okay?! What's happening?!" Haruka asked as she tried to comfort me.

But the tingle was way too much as this point. I couldn't hold it much longer. Something had to come out. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but it has to come out.

I placed both my hands in front of me and formed them into a circle like I was holding a ball. Then something started to appear from the middle of them. A purple ball of…some kind of dark energy. It kept getting bigger and bigger. To the point where it started burning my hands.

Then…out of nowhere…I did this:

"Vi…Vio…Viola…Violaceous Sphere!"

I released the purple ball of fire at a nearby wall. Shattering it to pieces and causing a small fire at the hole it made.

I then felt dizzy. And fell onto the bed I was sitting on. The tingling from my arms depleting away in the process.

"*pant* *pant* *pant* So…tired." Was all I said before falling asleep on the bed.


*2 ½ HOURS LATER…*

"Ugh…wha…what happened?"

"Oh, you're up." I heard a familiar voice talk to me.

"Haruka? What *yawn* happened?"

"*sigh* Damnit. I was hoping you'd remember."

"Remember what? What happened?"

"Um…well…" Haruka looked completely nervous about telling me what she was talking about. Which is all and out not like her at all.

"J-Just look at that wall over there." She then pointed behind me.

I didn't know if I actually wanted to or not. But seeing as how I don't remember what happened, it's pretty much best if I did.

So I did.

And immediately regretted doing so.

"Oh. My. GOD!"

I saw that there was a hole in the office wall. And it was smoking from the flames that were currently being put out. I didn't know what to believe from the sight. It was so…unreal.

"Wh-What the hell?! Wh-Where did that hole come from?!"

"Come on. Think a little. You seriously don't remember?"

I went silent for a bit looking confused at what Haruka was talking about. But then the memory suddenly came back to me. And I was feeling really guilty.

"O-Oh yeah. I-I caused that hole, didn't I?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah. You did."

"Gah! It's this stupid curse! It just keeps ruining my life at every damn chance it gets! I can't go one day! ONE FUCKING DAY! Without worrying about it! I seriously can't take it anymore!"

That little outburst was a mixed feeling of anger and sadness. These were the only two emotions I've ever felt for most of my life. The anger from my parents giving me this damn thing. And sadness from knowing that it's a possibility that I'll have this curse for the rest of my life.

The last part is actually a nightmare that I constantly get. At least once a week I get that particular dream. Where the curse goes out of control and I hurt the people I care about. And I end up crying in my sleep.

I've never told anyone this. I didn't want to put that fear into their minds as well. And besides, I'm not sure how I would tell them that there's a possible chance that I may kill them in the future.

How the hell is ANYONE supposed to explain that?!

"Ayano… are you…"

I didn't even let Haruka finish her sentence when I hugged her out of nowhere.

And started crying.

"*sniff* Haruka! I…I'm scared! This curse just keeps getting worse and worse! I don't know if I can keep it under control anymore! I fear that I'm going to end up killing you or the others! It even accrues in my dreams when I sleep! And I cry all night long because of it!

I honestly don't know what to do! WAAAAAAAA!"

"I-Is this…how you truly feel?" Haruka asked.

I continued to cry. But nodded my head a little to answer the question.

"Ayano…"

"I'm sorry for not telling you. It's just…how would anyone bring up such a topic without sounding like a psychopath? You just can't."

"Yeah. I guess that is a hard thing to bring up."

"What is?" We saw Sanae walking up to us while looking at the damage I caused.

"W-Well…i-it's kinda, well…bad."

"How bad are we talking about?"

"Like "Nightmare Fuel" bad." Haruka said.

"I-I see. If it's that bad, Ayano, then you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"*sniff* Thanks, Sanae."

"So, uh…I heard about the hole. Did you really do that?"

"*sigh* Yeah. And we believe that it's part of my curse."

"Damn, really? It didn't sound deadly."

"Huh?" Both Haruka and I were confused by what Sanae had just said.

"Sanae, what do you mean it didn't sound deadly?" Haruka asked.

"Well, to me…it sounded like fireworks."

"Fireworks?"

"Sanae, it was a purple ball of dark hot energy. How did it sound like fireworks?" I asked.

"I don't know. It just did. You can ask Doc and the other workers and they'll tell you the same thing."

"Huh…" This was getting rather confusing to me. And my disability is only making it harder to understand.

"Where is Doc, anyway?" I asked.

"He should be in his lab. Not sure what he's doing in there. He told people not to bother him for a while."

"When was this?"

"Uh…" Sanae checked her watch. "About 2 ½ hours ago."

"Aw, geez. Haruka…"

"Yeah, Ayano. I'm getting the same feeling." Haruka said.

"What you guys worried about? He's already on a 4-week streak."

"We just want to keep it that way." We both said as we made our way to Doc's lab.

Hopefully, before it's too late.


*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Hey, Doc. You in there?"

"I'm quite busy. Please come back later."

"It's me, Haruka."

"O-Oh, Haruka! Yes, do please come in!"

The sliding doors opened on their own and the two of us walked inside the lab where Doc spends most of his time. And by what we said earlier, we mean that in some cases Doc would do something that would lead to the entire lab exploding in a gulf of flames.

They don't happen as often as Nishigaki's explosions. But the fact that it happens is what gets everyone worried.

"Hello there, Haruka. O-Oh! Ayano, you're awake. Good, good. This makes things a lot easier for me."

"Huh? Make what easier?" I asked.

"Well…first off, you may want to sit down for this."

"Uh…okay." We took a seat in two nearby chairs as Doc prepared to tell us what he wanted to say.

"Well…after that weird phenomenon which resulted in you passing out, I took a piece of the flaming wall and studied it to find its key matters among other things. And while doing so, I've made a huge discovery."

"Huge discovery?" We both asked.

Doc cleared his throat before continuing on.

"You see, Ayano. I've found out what your curse is."

"Wha…

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?! Y-YOU FOUND OUT WHAT MY CURSE IS?!" I shouted like I've never shouted before.

"D-Doc, how did you do such a thing?!" Haruka yelled. Also shocked out of her mind.

"It was actually by pure luck. But once that happened, I had to find out more. Which is why I requested not to be disturbed. And I gathered so much information, as well."

"W-Woah…" Was all I could say.

I…I can't believe it! I'm about to learn about my curse! And after so many years of questioning it! I may even find out how to get rid of it, too!

"A-Alright. I'm ready. Lay it on me, Doc." I said with a determined look on my face.

"As you wish." Doc said. "First off, the name. It was in an unknown language, but I was able to translate it as…the Violet Soul Curse."

"Th…The Violet Soul Curse?"

"From what I gathered up, the Violet Soul Curse is one of the rarest out there. When affected, the host's body gets fused with a purple-like gem. Most likely an amethyst crystal."

"An amethyst crystal? Aren't those supposed to relax you? Why is one the cause of Ayano's curse?" Haruka asked.

"Well, this particular amethyst crystal must've been manmade by that old lady your parents took you to. I can't really say what she did to make that amethyst crystal infect you with the curse, but my guess is that it's something supernatural."

"Wait, so…with the cause somewhat unknown, does that mean what I think it means?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so, Ayano. The cure is also unknown. As there was only one other person who had the Violet Soul Curse. And that person passed away without knowing it, either. Of natural causes, I must add. The curse is not deadly in the slightest."

"*sigh* I see. Well, at least I won't die because of it. Was hoping for a cure, though."

"Cheer up, Ayano. At least we finally know what the curse is. We might be able to find ways to keep it under control now." Haruka said.

"Yeah. That is true…" I then remembered something from earlier. Something really puzzling. "Hey, Doc. What was that thing I did with the purple dark energy ball and the hole in the wall?"

"Honestly, Ayano. I was hoping you knew that part."

"Huh?"

"I couldn't find anything on that part. The description of the curse wasn't all that detailed."

"He's got a point, Ayano." Haruka said. "I mean, you even came up with a name for it."

"A name? When did I…" I stopped and thought about what they were talking about. Then it hit me.

"Wait. You mean…Violaceous Sphere? I don't even know what made me think if that name. It just…came to me."

"Hmm…it could be because it's related to the color purple." Doc said.

"I guess…"

I then felt my phone ringing and I took it out my jacket pocket to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Ayano! Finally, you picked up!

"Oh. Hey, Yui. Sorry, I was…busy. What's up?"

"Me and the others are all going swimsuit shopping. Wanna come along?"

"Swimsuit shopping? But we all already have one."

"Yeah, but Akari, Chinastu, Rise, and Chitose refuse to wear the one they already have."

"Didn't they wear…"

"Nanamori's school swimsuit? Yeah. They did."

"Ouch. Yeah, I can see why. Alright, I'll be there in like 20 minutes."

"Alright. See you then."

I hung up the phone and took a big sigh as I turned back to Haruka and Doc.

"Well, I'm off. Are you working late again tonight?" I asked Haruka.

"Yeah, I should be. I'll just give you some change and you can get dinner on the way home."

"Thanks. I could really use some…"

*BOOM*

"*cough* *cough* *cough* What the hell?!"

"Oh, boy. There goes my streak. *cough*" Doc said as he was covered in black dust from the recent explosion he caused.

"Geez, Doc. You couldn't wait until we left the room?" Haruka asked with a facepalm.

"Sorry, girls. But science never sleeps. There's a lot to discover out there and explosions are a minor setback to it all."

At least he has a reason to cause explosions. Unlike Nishigaki.

"Bleck! I may have to clean up a bit before meeting everyone. I'm going home real quick." I said.

"Fair enough. See you later." Haruka said as I headed out the door.

"See ya."

Huh. I don't know why, but I feel like I need to buy lavender-scented body wash and shampoo.

I guess one extra stop wouldn't hurt.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ayano has finally learned the secrets of her curse. Now known as the Violet Soul Curse. And with no cure known, now her goal is to keep it under control as she tries to live the rest of her life as normal as she can. Easier said than done.

Next update may not be for a while. I'm currently finishing a really big story and I took a break from that to update this. Until then, thanks for reading. Later.