A Month of Sundays
12.5: 1-14-4/20-21-18-14-9-14-7/19-20-1-25
"Don't you dare walk away from me! And don't tell me you're sorry! And don't tell me to forget it, and don't you dare tell me to 'let it go.' God knows, I'd like to."
-Amy, And Turning, Stay
April 28th, 2012
4:00 PM (Cous Coussier Entrance)
The Zeronos Liner finally arrived at the International Cuisine Cous Coussier with a hiss. The doors opened as the Cosmic Hunting Dogs stepped down; carrying their special items that would help them for whatever came their way. Right now, they just wanted something to eat, given that the last thing that touched their lips in the past few hours was cake.
"Ugh," said Ibuki, hand clutching his stomach. "What does it take for a ninja to get something to eat around here?"
"A shuriken to pierce a poor animal's heart out?" Taira asked. "Well, wasn't that what happened to your ancestors?"
"Very funny."
"How the heck can you stand having all that energy from eating cake?" asked Miura, seeing Jun in the midst of some sort of stretch. Quetzie tilted his head, trying to imitate his new sister by also lifting his foot into the air. Unfortunately, he wasn't as coordinated as the cheerleader and thus fell flat on his face.
"Ow…" he said, slowly standing up. Jun turned to the young Serpent and dusted him off with a gentle hand, giggling at his attempts.
"I just put my best foot forward and smile," Jun replied, pointing to the corners of her mouth. "You should try it sometime!"
"That'll be very nice when it comes to the likes of Ge—" Yuto covered Deneb's mouth before he could say anything else. Everyone else looked in confusion, but Yuto brushed it off.
"Deneb's always going on some strange tangent," he explained. "Nothing to see here…Let's get going…"
"But Yuto," Deneb explained, removing Yuto's hand. "We still have to pick up—"
"Let's GO, Deneb," Yuto emphasized. "Well, tell Owner that everything's doing fine on my end of the deal and that I'll see him soon…probably."
"Thank you for everything," said Rumi, waving toward the duo. "Take care!"
Yuto replied with a wave and stepped back into the Zeronos Liner. The door closed and the giant bull train flew into the sky through a shimmering barrier of light. Once they left, the doors to the Cous Coussier opened, and Chiyoko rushed out, panting for breath.
"W…what's going on now?" she asked, seeing the group in front of her. Her eyes then turned to Quetzie and she jumped. "W…what is he doing here?"
"He's good now," said Jun, carrying Quetzie into her arms. "Don't worry. He won't hurt a fly."
"H…hello there," Quetzie stammered, turning his gaze away from Chiyoko. "I…I'm sorry for earlier…"
"Is Ankh okay though?" Chiyoko whispered. "What happened to him?"
"That's something we're going to have a hard trouble telling you," said Teruhiko, sighing. "First off, do you have any food for my dad and my friends? They hadn't eaten in a while and we've recently finished a couple of brawls between mutant teenagers and doll-like humans. If you would be so kind, I mean."
"A simple meal is boring though!" said Jun. "Let's have a party and celebrate our victory!"
"A party?" Chiyoko's eyes lit up. "That's a splendid idea! I love hosting them! What do you want it to be?"
"How about a masquerade ball?" Jun suggested. "Just imagine us all in fancy dresses and beautiful masks, and we can even have a King's cake so that whomever gets the little figurine inside gets to become the King of the Masquerade!"
"SUBARASHI!"
Everyone turned around to see Satonaka standing behind them, carrying a laptop where Kougami smiled at them from his office.
"Where did you come from?" asked Takashi.
"From there," said Satonaka replied, pointing to a red convertible parked near the restaurant. "My boss wanted me to come to give you a message."
"I heard about your exploits against the dreaded Damballa," Kougami explained. "This calls for a celebration! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"Keep it down!" said Jun, pointing to Quetzie, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. "You're scaring him."
"Oh," said Kougami, seeing the small Serpent. "Isn't that Damballa's grandson? UNBELIEVABLE! With this, it is complete."
"What's complete?" asked Rumi. "Kougami-san, what have you been hiding?"
"I shall reveal all of that later tonight," Kougami answered. "But right now, I am preparing you some DELICIOUS cakes for your masquerade! I even will make a large of King's cake so that everyone can participate in this WONDERFUL Mardi Gras-based party!" The last sentence was so loud, everyone was nearly blown away from the voice.
"Wow," said Taira, cleaning his ear out with a finger. "I'm amazed how I haven't lost my hearing yet."
"Splendid!" said Chiyoko, clapping her hands. "We should get started!"
"But we don't have any costumes for a masquerade party," said Abe. "Nor do we have decorations, food, music or all the other related party paraphernalia needed to host something so grand!"
"I have an idea!" said Jun, pulling out her cellphone. She scrolled through her phonebook and found the specific number. She then pressed the button to call and placed her phone near her ear, all while smiling to herself.
"What is that, Jun onee-san?" asked Quetzie, slightly poking the pink colored cellphone.
"You'll see," Jun replied, placing a kiss on the young Serpent's cheek. "It's a surprise!"
0-0-0-0-0-
April 28th, 2012
4:03 PM (Akibahara)
"Nya, this is just so unfair!"
Yumeria Moegi slammed her head against her desk as she saw the sheet of paper in front of her eyes. She was being let go from her services in the "Family Circle", despite being with them for the past five years. Apparently the boss stated that Yumeria was, "too old" to be considered a valuable rental girl. That was so not true! She was only twenty-three, but she could still pass off for a teenage girl in High School!
So now she was stuck in her bedroom with all of her costumes scattered about across her bed, angry and trying to understand what she did wrong to entice Noriko Tatsumori's decision to kick her out. How was she going to pay her rent for room and board this month? Her work in the Family Circle covered most of her expenses!
As she sighed for the umpteenth time, she heard her cellphone play the opening to her favorite anime Z-Cune Aoi. She picked it up and pressed a button.
"Yumeria Moegi, speaking…nya," she said dejectedly.
"Yumeria-san," said a chipper female voice. "It's me, Shigeno-chan!"
"Jun Shigeno?" Yumeria sat up, placing a furry cat glove on the cellphone. "Nya! I haven't heard from you quite some time. How's everything?"
"Well, things have gotten a bit bumpy recently, but I was wondering if you could come to this restaurant called the Cous Coussier for a masquerade ball we're hosting! We need lots and lots of costumes, and I know that you were part of some costume department as you called it…" Yumeria winced at the words 'costume department'. "So I'm sure you wouldn't mind if you could lend us a few costumes for tonight's party, right?"
"I don't know…" Yumeria looked back at the paper in her hand. "I mean, I just got fired from my old job and..."
"The owner of the restaurant is willing to pay you for your troubles and she'll give you a job as a waitress there! It's an amazing place! She says that she decorates her restaurant with different themes and dresses up to fit it. She's planning on doing Alice in Wonderland on Monday and she would like a Cheshire Cat to be her Alice!"
"Really?" Now Yumeria sat at attention at the news. "I'll be there as soon as possible! Just tell me how many people are going to be at the party and I'll get all the costumes and props that I can! This will be so much fun, nya!"
"I knew I could count on you! See you in a bit!"
"Roger!" Yumeria hung up and stood up, jumping for joy. "This is going to be so exciting! A masquerade with paper faces on parade! A masquerade to hide your face so the world could never find you!"
She continued to sing to herself as she opened her closet, preparing a collection of costumes to be worn.
0-0-0-0-0-0
April 28th, 2012
4:10 PM (Narumi Detective Agency-Basement Level)
Eiji looked in disbelief as Hina and Shingo finished their story. Then his gaze turned to where Akiko and Ryu stood, both of them watching how Shotaro slept. Mari was taking a couple of deep breaths, her rainstick in hand as she prepared for Shotaro's true resurrection.
"This…can't be possible," Eiji whispered. "How could this have happened?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Mari answered. She turned her gaze at the still unconscious Ankh and shook her head. "We just recently learned about the Serpents and Gentaro's death, not to mention how Yayoi looked into Gentaro's past, and we're still trying to understand what could've brought this."
"We should be very lucky that we were able to bring you back to life, Eiji," said Shingo. "Now we just need to make sure Damballa can free Shotaro from his cursed state."
"This will be difficult," Damballa noted, placing a hand over Shotaro's forehead. "He might not want to return to the land of the living."
"What do you mean?" asked Akiko. "He has to! We need him! Futo needs him! If you don't bring him back, I'll—"
"Stop right now, Akiko," said Ryu, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Getting angry won't solve anything. We have to put our complete trust in him."
"All right," Akiko gripped onto the Skull Gaia Memory in her hands as she turned to Mari. "Bring that stupid half-boiled detective back for me, all right?"
"I'll do my best," Mari replied, placing a hand over Shotaro's heart. "Are you ready, Damballa?"
"Let us begin," Damballa placed his hand over Mari's. "Akiko and Ryu, place your hands over ours and let your hearts bring my Serpent-bearer back to life."
"He has a name," Akiko replied, narrowing her eyes. "Shotaro isn't just something that you can use as an anchor; he is a human being and—"
"Come on," Ryu interrupted, holding Akiko's hand and lowering them so they were above Shotaro's heart. "Let's do this."
Akiko sighed as she watched Damballa chant once more in French. Lines of light began to grow throughout Shotaro's body, like blood flowing through his veins. There was still no other change in him, though.
"Come on, Shotaro," Akiko pleaded. "Wake up...you can't leave us right now..."
Shotaro did not respond to Akiko's pleas. It was if he was in his own little world. Akiko gripped onto the green slipper in her hand, seconds away from slapping him across the face with it.
"You can't leave us like this!" she exclaimed, eyes filled with tears. "Come back, Shotaro!"
"Keep your voice down," Damballa hissed. "I must try and connect with his soul if this is going to work."
Akiko bit her lip as she looked at Shotaro's sleeping figure, praying that he would wake up and things could get better again.
0-0-0-0-0-
April 28th, 2012
4:13 PM (?)
Shotaro was in his office, drinking a mug of hot coffee and looking out of the window. It was a beautiful day in Futo. Nothing could go absolutely wrong.
"Shotaro!" a voice cried to him. "Shotaro, wake up!"
"Huh?" asked Shotaro, looking around. There was no one in the agency but him. "Hey! Show yourself!"
"Shotaro! Wake up...you need to wake up now!"
Shotaro placed a hand on his head, his coffee mug dropping to the ground and shattering into pieces. His head heart so much, and there was this pounding in his skull as he heard someone knock at the door. The knock started soft, but then it grew until it felt like someone was pounding against it with their fists. Shotaro looked up, hearing a myriad of ghostly voices echoing in the agency, calling his name.
"S...stop this!" he cried, trying to reach for the Lost Driver. Unfortunately, he couldn't find it. He began searching his desk, tossing papers into the air to find it. "Leave me alone!"
But the voices were louder, and the pounding nearly bursting his eardrums. Shotaro stumbled around, walking toward the door that would lead to the basement. When he opened the door, he was met with his own corpse on the stairs. Blood covered the dead Shotaro's mouth, and a large, black spike impaled through his chest. Down below, the area where the RevolGarry and Philip's whiteboards should be was a giant pile of ashes.
"W...what's going on?" Shotaro asked, looking around. "Akiko! Ryu! Philip! Where are you?"
"They're gone..." a deep voice croaked. "They don't exist in your itty, bitty world..."
Shotaro looked down as he saw his double laugh, slowly removing the spike impaled through his chest. Blood continue to pour from the wound as the double licked his fingers clean of blood. The doppleganger grinned, revealing a mouth filled with sharp nails as he began to climb up the steps. Shotaro tried to bring out a weapon, or at least something he could devend himself against his sadistic counterpart.
"You cannot hurt me," the double noted, seeing Shotaro pick up a pillow on the ground. He stabbed it with the spike and tossed the pillow aside, a couple of feathers floating into the air. "You must listen to me. You are in grave danger—your soul is on the verge of snuffing out."
"You're trying to trick me," Shotaro replied. "I won't allow for-"
The double spat out a nail that lodged itself to a beam behind Shotaro. While Shotaro was temporarily distracted, his twin lodged the spike deep into his heart. Shotaro gasped as he felt everything began to blur. The pounding on the door replaced his dying heart beats.
"Listen to me," said the double. "Your soul is on the verge of dying; I have been salvaging it little by little, as per my master's orders. He changed his heart and now wishes for your resurrection."
"N...no," Shotaro choked. "You're lying. You want to...hurt me."
"Sometimes a little pain is necessary for us to live. Don't you remember what happened when this same spike killed you? Do you not remember the pain and suffering that took place?"
Shotaro's eyes widened as he remembered how he died. Tears formed in his eyes as he saw Philip create the murder weapon in thin air, and then leave with that evil smile on his face. His double sighed as he spat out a nail, dabbing it into the blood on his lips.
"You suffer so much, and your suffering must continue in the land of the living," said the countepart. He laughed as he added, "This will tickle a bit."
Shotaro didn't say anything, his mind still replaying his death over and over, as the double began to paint a familiar symbol on his forehead.
0-0-0-0-0-0
April 28th, 2012
4:20 PM
"Shotaro!" said Akiko, using her slipper to slap Shotaro across the face. "Wake up! Please open your eyes!"
"I sense something wrong," said Mari, placing a hand over Shotaro's heart. "It's...it's so weird."
"What exactly do you mean by 'weird'?" asked Damballa.
"Shotaro's soul is repairing itself, but at the same time it feels weak. Is a Serpent-bearer's soul supposed to do that?"
"No," Damballa shook his head. "We Serpents are supposed to devour the souls of a person we contract to, in order to send them off to the Realm of the Dead. We give our 'victims' a final request of letting them be in a place where they could be happy before their soul finally snuffs out. In my Serpent-bearer's place, I created a 'faux soul' that could follow my bidding and use this body to not fool everyone. However, since we want my Se—Shotaro—to come back, it is harder for the soul to return back to its original state."
"What does that mean then?" Akiko screamed, the tears in her eyes starting to fall. "Will Shotaro come back? Will he get better? Tell me, Damballa!"
"That, even I do not know," Damballa rubbed his chin in thought. "Depending on how strong the soul is, it could be a matter of days...weeks...months...who knows?"
Shotaro's body began to thrash about, his mouth opening in an attempt to scream. Mari began to tip the rainstick and let a myriad of blue sparkles pour down his body. Akiko and Ryu grabbed onto his arms, as Shotaro's thrashing slowed down.
Damballa spat out a small purple orb that lazily floated in the air before entering through Shotaro's mouth.
"Please work," Mari prayed. "Shotaro, the Cosmic Hunting Dogs came to help you in your time of need. As their leader, it's my duty to see this through. So please, come back to-"
Mari's pleas were interrupted when a dark blur attacked her. She only had time to turn her head to see Ankh charging at her and pinning her to the wall. Hina immediately sat up and began to pull Ankh away with her superhuman strength. Unfortunately, a flash of light from behind his back, temporarily blinding her. Shingo brought his gun out, pointing it at Ankh's forehead.
"Step away from her right now," he warned. "I'm not afraid to use it."
Ankh chuckled, his eyes awash with a dark red glow as he summoned a ball of fire at Shingo. Shingo rolled out of the way and fired a shot at Ankh's shoulder. Ankh winced a bit, dropping Mari to her knees as he placed a hand where the bullet grazed him. Instead of looking shocked, he ran his fingers near the wound and began to whisper something. In seconds, the wound began to vanish.
"W...what was that?" asked Eiji.
"I think Quetzalcoatl delved in blood magic during his time with the Aztecs," Mari replied. She concentrated as two whips of red and blue light materialized. "We have to pin him down long enough for Damballa to reverse the spell."
She threw her arms into the air before thrusting them forward. The whips wrapped around Ankh's wrists as Mari began to tug with all her might. Unfortunately, Ankh was stronger than she was, and pulled her straight into the air, over his head before she came crashing down on Akiko and Ryu with a thud. Ankh laughed, licking his new fangs with delight.
"Foolish mortal," he hissed. "Did you honestly think you could stop me?" He kicked Mari off of Akiko and Ryu and placed a foot on her chest. "Your blood will give me strength and fill me with power to fulfill my master's wishes."
"You missed the memo," Mari replied, struggling to sit up. "Quetzie's turned good. He doesn't want blood anymore."
"But I do," Ankh chuckled. "Now, be a good girl and expose your neck to me."
"Never!" Mari raised an arm into the air and let a blue whip wrap around Ankh's neck. She pulled her wrist back, tightening its grip to make him suffocate.
"Mari, wait!" said Hina. "Ankh was already dead to begin with. He doesn't need air!"
"I'm not aiming for that!" Mari replied. She lowered her other arm and let a red whip wrap around his leg. "Watch!"
She yanked the whip, causing Ankh to fall onto his back. Mari rolled out of the way and stood up, hand over her heart. She pointed the rainstick toward the former Greeed, spraying a shower of blue sparks at his face.
"We're going to cure you," she said. "So calm down and listen to us."
"Ankh!" said Eiji, rushing toward his friend's side. "You have to fight it. This isn't like you!"
"Get away from me, fool!" Ankh growled, kicking Eiji to the side. "I have no need for the likes of you."
"Funny," said a voice. "I have no need for your kind in my city."
Ankh turned around, only to be met by a large spike to be driven into one of his eyes. He stepped back as blood splattered everywhere.
"MY EYE!" he screamed. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
There was no time for him to retaliate when a wooden hand pulled the spike out and drove it to the second eye, hearing Ankh repeat the same expletives from earlier. Ankh dropped to his knees, blood falling down his face like tears as he struggled to find his attacker. Everyone turned to see Shotaro standing over the Greeed with a large nail in his hand.
"Now, foolish mortal," Shotaro laughed. "Time for you to count up your sins."
Next time: Has Shotaro truly awaken? As this is pondered, the Cous Coussier prepares for a big masquerade to celebrate their big victory. Unfortunately, while they celebrate, evil plans in the shadows.
To be continued in, 13-"Stay Awhile/Stay Forever"