Title: Mary's Play House
Genre: romance, horror
Rating: T for language and intense violence (in certain scenes)
Pairings: JohanXJudai (spiritshipping); hinted others
Summary: After being dared to go and do the Bloody Mary dare, Judai finds himself haunted by a girl with bloody hands. But why is "Bloody Mary" pursuing Judai? Could it be due to the death of her son 30 years ago at Duel Academy, the son that had the same appearance and name as our beloved little Judai Yuki? Or could it be that Bloody Mary is convinced that Judai is her son? What will Johan do to save Judai from the ghost who wants her son back?
Me: The next chapter in the story!
Lucy: We're approaching the end! After this, there will be one more chapter, and then we shall begin with some of the stories we promised we were going to either start or finish!
Me: Please enjoy!
Chapter Eleven: Mnemophobia
Mnemophobia- the fear of memories.
He didn't want to remember. He had ever reason not to.
He was a killer.
He was a liar.
He had ruined two people's lives.
But no matter how much he feared remembering what he had done, the memories wouldn't leave. Filling the soul of the girl he had come to know and love, they transformed her into a vengeful spirit. She dawned the appearance of a bloody woman, stole the name from the girl of legend, and lives for nothing but revenge.
That time is now.
Ryuzaki grabbed Johan by the shoulders and threw him as far away as he could. Too late. The moment Johan staggered even an inch from him, a dark shadow snapped from his body. The strange inhuman beauty that had eked from Johan's body was gone; he was back to normal. His hands flew to his head, now sore, and he groaned. The shadow flew down and landed before Ryuzaki, taking on color and form. The figure turned into a young woman, and she smiled at him.
"Ryuzaki," she said in a velvety voice.
The teacher stammered and stepped back, his knees knocking together. Bloody Mary cocked her head to the side and continued to smile. It was the most terrible grin Johan had ever seen.
"You thought you could hide from me," she said. It wasn't a question.
Ryuzaki backed away, his body trembling violently.
Bloody Mary sidled up toward him. "You thought you'd be able to die without ever atoning for your sins. You thought you could get away with it," she said, her voice thick with anger and hatred. "But you didn't count on one thing, Ryuzaki."
"W-what was that?" he whispered.
Bloody Mary turned and pointed to the sleeping brunette. "I. Found. Our. Son."
Ryuzaki looked at the sleeping brunette. Sure, he looked exactly their their son, and sure, he had the same name, but it couldn't be. If Judai, their son, were still alive, then he would be in his thirties now, and no longer in Duel Academy. He looked to Bloody Mary again. Then again, it was a possibility that this Judai was their son, and that he was a spirit like his mother was. But why was he aged? Mary was eighteen when she died, and she looked eighteen now. Judai Ryuzaki was three when he died. So... if this Judai was their son... why did he looked sixteen?
"He's grown into such a lovely young man,"said Bloody Mary with sweet affection. "Hasn't he?"
"That's not our son," Ryuzaki whispered.
Bloody Mary's eyes widened slightly. "More lies, Ryuzaki?" Her tone was wicked, angry. "Is that really what you wanna do?"
Johan folded his arms tight across his chest. "He speaks the truth, you know," he told Bloody Mary. "Your son isn't Judai. I know that for a fact."
The bloody young woman turned and snarled at Johan, but stopped when she remembered that she owed him. She frowned and lowered her eyes to the floor.
Ryuzaki, feeling that he were able to look up now, turned his gaze to the sleeping figure of Judai once again.
The brunette shifted a bit, as if someone were touching him.
Bloody Mary turned her glare back to Ryuzaki, forgetting anything Johan had just said. "I awoke to find you towering over our son's body. I slit my wrists because of you! I thought I'd be able to see my sweet Judai again. Instead, I found myself in a weird dimension. Everything was backward, every single thing I saw. It looked exactly like things do when you look at them through a mirror- reverse. I wandered until I came to a clear new surface, only to discover that I was trapped in the world of the mirror.
"I wandered for years, wondering how I would see Judai at this rate! But then, someone called me. They called me 'Bloody Mary', and they called my name all the time. I came whenever they called, and I hurt them when they lied to me. Some of them told me they had my baby- those are the ones I hurt. But I never left Duel Academy Island. And finally, someone called my name, Ryuzaki. When I went to see him, imagine my surprise when my boy, my sweet baby boy, was standing outside the mirror, calling for me.
"I was in awe. I had to go to him. Imagine my luck when I learned you were here, too. My revenge was set. All I had to do was get my sweet son to set me free, and it all went aflutter from there. I was released, and I took up residence in Judai's body. But Johan" -she pointed to the blue-haired student standing near Judai- "didn't want me to take him. So, in agreement for releasing my son, and promising not to bring him down into Hell with me and you, he let me use his body to get close to you without you seeing me. So thank you, Johan, for lending me your body. And thank you, Ryuzaki, for making my revenge so easy."
The teacher close his eyes. He was done for, and he knew it.
In his sleep, Judai shifted. Tiny hands, feeble and timid, seemed to be tugging at his sleeve, calling him to awaken. The voice was soft, his voice full of childish curiosity and fear. His eyelids fluttered, and he was greeted by the sight of a young bloody woman standing before his teacher, Johan standing a few feet back.
Judai sat up and looked at his side.
A young child stood at his heels, blinking up at him with giant brown eyes.
"Is Momma gonna go away now?" he asked.
To Judai, his voice was familiar. It was the way Judai had spoken when he was just a little boy. The child looked just like him, in fact. But the only difference was the bloody ax wound across his chest. Judai winced and reached down to pat the child's hand. The child was cold, and he clung to Judai's warmth like a life line.
"Momma's gonna go away now," Judai agreed.
"Where I am?" asked the boy.
Judai looked up and frowned at the woman with long brown hair and blood. "I can't be sure."
The little child frowned and looked back at Bloody Mary.
"Momma's not coming to the Light with me, that much I know," he said. He looked at Judai; he could see the golden tears welling up behind the boy's eyelids. "Even so, I want Momma to know that I love her and that I don't want to see her like this anymore. I wanna see her smile, like she did when we were alive together."
Judai nodded slowly and looked up, his lips pursed.
"I'll do what I can," he promised.
The small child looked at him, smiled, and hugged Judai's leg. "I'm glad we share the same name," he murmured in his baby voice. "I wish we could have been brothers, if at all possible."
Judai looked down to smile, but the child was gone.
Bloody Mary floated down and wrapped her arms tight around Ryuzaki. He didn't struggle; he knew he deserved this. He closed his eyes, hoping that he wouldn't have to see any more of Hell than needed.
"Knock it off, Mom."
Bloody Mary glanced up, managing to keep her hold on Ryuzaki.
Johan turned around and saw Judai standing against one of the desks, frowning at the bloody young woman. He had his arms folded tight over his chest, and he didn't look happy. He moved toward her and placed a hand out, reaching to touch her.
"You're freaking me out," he said. "I don't wanna see you like this before you go."
The young woman stared at Judai. "What are you...?"
"I'm not speaking on behalf of myself," Judai said, shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong, Bloody Mary. But the child who shares my name, that Judai, he doesn't want to see you acting like this. You're scaring him. He knows you aren't going to ever see him again, but before you go, he wants to see you smile, like you did when he was alive."
Bloody Mary frowned. She looked down at Ryuzaki, locked in a tight death grip, and then back to Judai. Judai stood beside Johan and reached out to touch his hand. Johan brushed his hand against Judai's, then caught his hand and held it tight. Bloody Mary saw this, but her focus was on her son- er- her son's look-alike. She frowned and looked back down at Ryuzaki, and then at her hand. The blood on her pale flesh seemed to stand out for the first time, and it scared her. She looked back at Judai and smiled slightly.
"All right."
As if by magic, her appearance changed.
The blood washed away, and she was back to how Judai and Johan imagined she would look when she were alive. Her pale face was lively with color, her eyes were bright and blue without the wicked silver lining, and her clothes were pressed and free of blood. Her hair was lively and full of a lovely shine, like copper in the sun. Despite the fact that it was the dead of night, she seemed to be glowing as bright as the sun. She was pretty, now that they could see her without the blood on her face.
"Goodbye, Judai. Goodbye, Johan," she said. "Tell my son I love him, okay?"
Judai nodded; that was all he could do.
Mary glanced back down at Ryuzaki, who was staring at her beauty the way he stared at her years ago when they were in love.
She smiled, and the spell faded.
Her flesh paled, her hair lost its shine and turned dark, her eyes turned silver, and the blood appeared all over her clothes and her face. Her hands and sharp red nails dug into Ryuzaki's arms. "See you in Hell, Ryuzaki!" she shrieked. The groud below the both of them seemed to turn to mush, swallowing them up like quicksand. Johan and Judai watched in shock as Ryuzaki kicked and flailed, but he couldn't escape. He looked at the two boys one last time, reached a hand to beckon for them, but he was swallowed before he could reach either of them. The floor, once it had swallowed them both and plunged them into Hell, where Mary would torture Ryuzaki for eternity, the ground hardened back into tile, and Mary's vengeful laughter echoed off the rafters of Duel Academy until the break of dawn.
Me: Kind of a sad ending for Mary because she didn't go to Heaven with her son, but she gets to torture her husband forever, and maybe, if she is forgiven, if Judai (her son) begs God, maybe Mary will be let free!
Lucy: Either way, we're coming to the end. One last chapter to go, and then we're done with "Mary's Play House"!
Me: Please review and we shall update!
