And with that, she lifted her hair out of her face. And I saw the secret she had been hiding for so long.
Chapter Twenty-Six- Momiji's Pov
Crimson mixed with a lighter rose, a far from beautiful combination no matter how it may seem. The colors wisped up, like fire, hungry tongues reaching out, tasting the paleness that bordered it. The flames seemed to eat their way through it, leaving only a ruined trail to show where they had been, and only what they yearned to reach and destroy showing what had once existed.
I tried not to stare, I really did, but it was impossible, the forever burning flames of the scar did not let my pained eyes pull away. That scar, that I was sure only one person other than Ichi and myself had ever laid eyes upon, and that of course was none other than the man who caused it. It spread from the very base of her defined and delicate cheekbone, to where her eyebrow would grow if not for the obvious damage. On the sides, it spread from the junction that her slightly pointed nose grew out of, all the way over to her fire ravaged ear. It looked as if the skin had just about melted right off of her face, the uneven and rough looking skin was so different from the pale smoothness of the other side of her beautiful face.
All I could do was stare; no matter how much I tried not to, trying to absorb the shock into my brain, trying to make my thoughts calm.
"And now you know, Momiji Sohma. Now you know what I hide, now you see my true appearance, now you see how ruined I am, how mutilated and disgusting that bastard left me. You now understand and know everything about me, are you happy now?" Tears spilled out of Ichi's eyes, as if the fresh beads of water were running, trying in vain to calm the angry red fire of the even angrier scar. "You should be happy, you've won, and you've broken me. You have now discovered my past, something I was so desperately trying to hide so that I could maybe have a fresh start, a clean slate. But now I see that that's impossible, that I'll never find peace. My scar is always an ugly reminder of that."
Tears continued to flow down her cheeks, as she spoke, but her words didn't reach my mind anymore. I just watched her, the girl, the young woman, that I had come to know, that had become more than just someone I wanted to figure out because I was interested, but someone I wanted to get to know because I cared.
In reality, no, I was not happy; I was not pleased that I had finally gotten her to expose one of her deepest secrets, not because of any other reason except how much pain it caused her to show me.
That was what shocked me. Even though she didn't have to, and even if she was angry and sad, she was also something else, vulnerable. I had never seen Ichi in a vulnerable state before, even when she didn't have the heavy burden of her memories to weigh her down.
I wouldn't say that the emotions that I felt branched out from a stem of happiness, but something else, something deeper.
Slowly, I stepped forwards, as if I was approaching an injured animal, dangerous, unstable, but impossible not to reach out to. And without hesitation, without fear of reactions, I gently lifted my hand, and cradled Ichi's cold face, feeling her tears sink into my own skin, merging in my veins, as I felt the fear she felt, the sadness that had enveloped her.
Her lips had ceased to move as she realized my ears were unreceptive to her words, and she looked into my eyes, tears brimming her emerald eyes. I noticed with a small spark of happiness that she now had to look up to reach my eyes, no longer could she call me a runt.
"I could never think of you as disgusting or mutilated." I whispered to her. "You're beautiful, and nothing could ever change that, not even a scar."
And then, our lips connected. Her cold, sweet taste colliding with my own, like a spark of electricity, a small shock zapped between us.
To my delight, she didn't pull back, she didn't freeze. I gently draped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me, and after a mere moment, her delicately pale fingers danced over my sides.
When I kissed her, everything else faded into oblivion. It didn't matter where I was, the problems that had plagued my mind for so long simply faded into a peaceful wave. Everything fell into place, like it was simply meant to be this way, with her in my arms, and I in hers.
I had to wonder why it had taken so long for me to realize my real reason for perusing the hidden truth underneath the mask, was not because of curiosity, but a deeper emotion, a much deeper feeling, that blossomed in my heart instead of my mind.
And when I finally pulled back, there wasn't a smile, but something better than a smile. There was a light.
That light, something I had waited, wanted for so long, to see. A light of pure happiness, of peace, a golden glow that almost turned her eyes hazel.
And then, that smile finally appeared.
It was different than the smile, different from the sadistic smile that Ichi so often gave everyone before the accident, different from the confused and nervous smile that she gave so often after her memories were taken away from her.
But then I saw this smile, a smile that was true happiness, even with Ichi's memories still haunting her.
"Please, come back to the world, with me. I miss you, everyone does. I miss the Ichi that I came to know, not this Ichi who has forgotten not only her memories, but who she is. I beg of you, please, come back." I whispered into her ear, pulling her close against my chest.