Mairimashita! Iruma-kun: Shadows of the Past, part 18
The netherworld, eleven years ago.
It was a cold day in late autumn. School had ended and Kalego found himself walking a well worn path as the sun set. He'd taken this path many times, often without thought. He was headed to Pandora's abandoned childhood home.
When troubled, he would go there and stare at the overgrown property as he sorted his thoughts. Vines had taken over the empty house. Persephone couldn't bear to live there after the tragedy, so she'd let the netherworld reclaim it. He never expected to see her standing there that day.
A chill breeze blew her hair as she glanced at the unexpected presence. Tears ran down her face. Sharing in her pain, he silently stood beside her. They looked solemnly at the old house in mutual respect for the dead, speaking volumes without a word.
They stood beside one another in silence for some time. As it got dark, it got even colder. Seeing Persephone shiver, he quietly placed his coat over her shoulders. She glanced at him in thanks. They hadn't spoken in months. He had no idea she was planning to visit.
She had told him about the loss of her right eye on one of their calls months ago, but this was his first time seeing her without it. Politely, he didn't make a big deal out of it. The spider web patch she had chosen suited her perfectly.
"Won't you be cold?", she uttered, gratefully clutching the garment around herself. She had a scarf, but she hadn't anticipated it to be quite so chilly. Kalego grinned faintly. "I'll be fine", he stated. Another cool blast of air proved him wrong. Persephone couldn't help, but chuckle at his expression. He stared, intrigued, as she apologized. He'd never heard her laugh before.
"I'm sorry. That face was just too much", she said, actually grinning for a change. He diverted his face lest she catch sight of his pink cheeks. That simple chuckle had gotten to him somehow. He slowly looked back at her extended hand. She was politely returning his coat.
"We should probably get somewhere warmer", she ventured. Refuting the gesture, he offered, "Coffee?". She smirked faintly in agreement as she slid her arms into the sleeves and the duo left the dark property.
Over the next few days, they ended up getting much more comfortable around each other. They talked about their work, themselves, and, of course, Pandora. Persephone was glad to hear that Balam had eventually managed to work through his depression through his passion for study. He sounded like he was doing well and the kindness that reminded her of her cousin so much was still intact. She was glad for that as if a tiny piece of Pandora had lived on.
Coffee turned to wine as time went on. Eventually, the friendship grew into something more. Kalego was weary of letting his guard down, but Persephone had finally made the first move.
They had spent much of the evening talking and settled in to read together. As he had leaned forward to put their book down, she'd darted in. He froze at the sudden feeling of her lips against his own.
She chuckled at his stupor as she released him. "Was it that bad?", she teased. Gathering his thoughts, he smiled softly. "You surprised me is all", he coyly admitted. She blushed lightly at his smile. It seemed a fleetingly rare sight, but this one didn't seem to be going anywhere.
"It's alright if you don't feel that way, I just thought maybe you - " She paused mid sentence. He seemed intrigued by the movement of her lips, but not words coming out of them. Quieting herself, she let him get closer, and that time, the affection was mutual.
A week later, the two sat in oppressive silence. Persephone knew all about Victoria and Kalego's curse marks, but she had yet to actually see them. He had pulled away from her minutes earlier when she tried to playfully kiss his neck and during his explanation as to why, a lot of dark memories had been dredged up.
"Do they hurt?", she asked carefully. He still averted his gaze, too self-conscious to face her. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, but he panicked in that moment. He knew she wasn't angry, but he didn't exactly want her pity either.
"Sometimes", he said stiffly. In all of their conversations, they had always done their best to avoid talking about Victoria, but she was part of his life whether they liked it or not. At least they had the comfort of knowing she was locked up, under heavy guard.
Persephone sighed, torn. She wanted to get closer to Kalego, but if he didn't want the same thing, her ambition was useless. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away", he stated sincerely.
She smiled supportively as he slowly looked her way. Taking his hand, she gently kissed his cheek in forgiveness. A tiny grin crept over his lips in gratitude for her understanding.
"I know this isn't a comfortable subject for either of us, but I think it's time you told me everything", she said. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him close, holding on tightly until he was ready to talk. He slowly opened up.
He told her about the first mark. It was in the crook of his neck. He told her how he'd been bitten so young and no one had been able to remove it. The curses attached to it were still active, all those years later, but he'd gotten used to dealing with them. Most of the time, it was merely a visual reminder of the past, but the times Victoria escaped, she was able to track him and mess with his head. Even locked away, she regularly sent him nightmares.
Looking into his eyes and gently placing her hand over his chest, Persephone felt his heart beating beneath her fingers. It stirred something deep inside herself. "And this one?", she asked. He immediately grimaced. That one must have hurt the worst. He sighed heavily, recalling the events.
"It was after I had enrolled in Babylus - the Harvest Festival. Victoria had enslaved several students to gather ingredients for her. At least, that was her initial plan. At some point, she decided to use them for experiments instead. I found out about it and went to stop her… Shichiro was doing really well, so, like a fool, I didn't tell him, afraid I'd distract him from his goal of winning. When we met again after it was over, he showed me his hand. It was her mark, just a reminder that she could get to me in more than one way, any time she wanted."
Persephone stared at him pleadingly. That didn't answer her question, but it did teach her one of Balam's secrets. Kalego stared into nothingness darkly as he spoke.
"When I confronted her, she had several other students to use as hostages. Most were unconscious. Those that weren't desperately wished they were… She'd done terrible things to them, but hadn't been caught yet to be disqualified. I sent word up the line when I headed for her location, but it was worse than I expected. She was ready to make them all kill themselves just to get under my skin… It worked well."
"She offered to make a deal, their lives for mine. I didn't have a choice at the time and I refused to let them all die. I was the school's guard dog, not its executioner. So I agreed", he said grimly.
He tensed visibly at the memory, prompting Persephone to rest her head on his shoulder. All she could do was listen and offer her support. Taking a deep breath, he smirked deprecatingly at himself.
"I was such an idiot. I bowed, but my pride alone wasn't enough; She wanted a kiss. The thought of being anywhere near her disgusted me. The concept of a kiss nearly made me vomit, but there were lives on the line. Three other students stood crazed and ready to rip out their own throats, so I conceded."
He shuddered, his skin clearly crawling with the thought. He really detested Ai. Persephone knew that giving in to such a demand must have been excruciating for him.
"My stomach turned, but I let her closer. Like a damned idiot, I let her closer and I closed my eyes. I couldn't bear to see her so near my face… The kiss came, but so did a searing pain in my chest."
He pressed his hand over Persephone's at that moment, pressing her palm firmly against the mark.
"I could feel myself bleeding… The crazy bitch actually nicked my heart with one of her talons. She'd literally tried to take my heart for herself... The power she put in me that day knocked me out cold. This mark has been there ever since."
Kalego got quiet as he glared darkly ahead. He clearly thought himself stupid for falling into her trap. After a moment, he grinned faintly in nostalgia.
"Shichiro was so angry with me for going alone. He wouldn't talk to me for three days, not until Pandora dragged him to see me… I found out later than Opera-senpai was the one who found me. The teacher's quietly evacuated the affected students and Ai was suspended."
"She apparently got to Shichiro after me, just to add insult to injury. When Pandora had told him that my heart had actually been scratched, he was too worried to be upset with me", he said wistfully.
Pandora's name brought out a lot of feelings. Persephone silently embraced Kalego for some time after that, simply holding him near for comfort.
A few days later, he finally showed her the mark on his neck. She could see fang marks nestled at its center. The fact that they had left a scar after so long was evidence as to how much magic Victoria had poured into that curse as well as it being her primary attack point during the residual face offs.
Kalego looked away darkly as Persephone inspected the mark closely. "I've gotten pretty good at healing magic. Do you want me to try?", she offered. He looked skeptical, but ceded more her sake than his own. A nasty shock hit them both as the curse rejected her mana.
"Ow", she said, shaking her finger. Returning her attention to Kalego, she asked if he was alright. He looked pale and a little shaken, but none the worse for it. The color quickly returned to his face when she asked to see the second mark.
"Shy?", she teased. He smirked as he loosened his collar. There would be no more secrets between them. He diverted his red face as she crawled closer, carefully touching his bared chest.
"I probably shouldn't mess with this one", she ceded. He grinned in agreement. There was no telling what the recoil might be. "She likely already knows you're here from the first time", he teased. A shift in Persephone's demeanor garnered his attention.
"How dare you", she said sternly. He finally looked back at her in surprise and his red hue deepened at the playful look in her eye as well as the view of her plunging neckline. She really was at an enticing angle.
"Honestly, talking about another woman when I'm right here", she said, teasingly touching the mark. Crawling even closer, she sat in his lap, straddling his hips. "What am I going to do with you?", she flirted. He was glad for the break in the gloomy tension, but this was a new kind of tension, one he hadn't been expecting. A confident grin crossed his lips. "I look forward to finding out."
Pandora's room, the present.
"And there you have it", said Persephone, finishing her tale. Pandora pressed her red face into a pillow. It was all too much. "Kyaaaa!", came out muffled. Finally looking up, she was still blushing.
"Just like that?", she gaped. Persephone smiled amusedly at her more innocent cousin. "Just like that", she affirmed.
Pandora's head was swimming. What if Shichiro…? "No! Focus!", she thought, trying to calm herself. Taking a deep breath, she settled her nerves.
"Thank you for telling me. I think I understand a little now", she ventured. Persephone grinned at her fondly. She had skimmed over their history when first asked, but now Pandora knew almost everything, even how it ended.
Rising from her seat, Persephone kissed her cousin's brow. "Now get some sleep, okay?", she said. Pandora nodded and settled in without argument. She wasn't sure if she could sleep or what sorts of dreams might invade her mind after such a story, but she felt closer to both Persephone and Kalego now. She knew he would be unlikely to tell her much. Still, she was happy for them and hoped they would get back together.
As Persephone guarded her sleeping cousin, she reminisced at the recalled memories. She knew Kalego would be intimately involved in Pandora's recovery, so they would undoubtedly be spending a lot of time with each other. She grinned fondly at the thought. She was almost looking forward to it.
Netherworld, the past.
Persephone and Kalego had been seeing each other for a little over a year. There was even talk of her moving in. Everything was going amazing until the day Victoria Ai escaped prison.
Persephone had gotten an anxious message from Kalego and hurried over after her shift at the hospital. When she walked in the door unscathed, she'd never seen him look so relieved. He hugged her unusually tightly that day.
When he finally loosened his grip, he stared worriedly into her eye as he stroked her cheek. He was acting so strangely. Then it hit her. He wasn't at all scared for himself. He was afraid of losing her the way they had lost Pandora. Realizing that, she let him hold her particularly close that night as they slept.
The next morning, she promised to call him if anything at all out of ordinary came up. That afternoon, he got a picture message from her phone, one she hadn't sent. It was a selfie of Victoria with Persephone oblivious to her presence in the background.
When Persephone looked at her phone an hour later, there were several missed calls from Kalego. As she scrolled through the list, confused, he appeared before her. He rarely came to see her at work. He looked like hell.
"Is everything alright?", she asked. Striding forward, he grabbed her shoulders and stared deeply into her eye. He was out of breath. Just how fast had he flown to get there?
"You tell me. What did she do?", he said, almost demanding. After some initial confusion, he showed her the picture. It was definitely sent from her phone, but Victoria had made sure to delete both the photo and the message, leaving the phone's owner none the wiser.
"So now what?", asked Persephone grimly. Kalego had a dark expression, even for him. "You're not safe here", he stated, thinking out loud. "I can't just leave you or my job. Calm down. I'm not as weak as you think I am", she said defensively.
His eyes softened at those words. Taking a deep breath, he pulled her close. Holding her near, he said, "I know you aren't weak...but I can't let you take that risk. You don't know what she's capable of."
She stiffened, prompting him to let go. Glaring angrily, she fought the urge to hit him. "I don't know? I lost my family!" Her tone was harsh, but she was livid. He glanced away apologetically. She was right. "I'm sorry", he said sincerely. Seeing him calm down, she smiled faintly. "Well figure this out."
That night, Kalego was scrambling for ideas. He had to get Persephone away from Victoria, but where would she possibly be safe? He recalled the grizzly remains they had found in Pandora's room. That was a prime example of Victoria's jealousy and he wasn't even romantically involved with Pandora. There was no telling what Ai might do to Persephone.
Then an idea crossed his mind. Persephone could go to the front lines to man the medical tents. She had become a phenomenal healer and her unusual familiar would literally be a lifesaver if needed. Best of all, he knew that Narnia would keep her safe amidst the fighting. Victoria had no business going into the middle of a warzone. It wasn't worth her trouble.
He thought it over hard. There was a good chance Persephone might get hurt out there, but with her skills, she would be alright and anything that did happen wouldn't be his fault. If Victoria killed her, he'd never forgive himself. Ai's madness was pushing him to his limit.
When he shared his potential plan with his beloved, Persephone slapped him hard. "I am not some token you can just hand off to your brother now that you're done with me!", she'd shouted with feeling. Tears were forming in her eyes. Kalego was stunned. In his fervor to save her, he'd pushed her away, even insulted her.
"I know that! And I'm not trying to hand you off. Narnia is the only one I can trust to keep you safe!", he argued. Persephone met his stern gaze evenly. "You still don't get it, do you? You and I are the same rank. Together, we're unstoppable", she said, her heart breaking.
She knew that if it came down to it, he would willingly drive a wedge between them if it meant saving her life. He stared breathlessly, unsure of what to even say. She was trembling and he'd caused it.
"You love me, don't you? Don't you want me here to support you in your time of need?... Forget your foolish pride!", she cried, tears falling. A shadow overtook his face as he shamefully stared at the floor.
"You're right… I'm underestimating you", he ceded. Looking up with determination, he added, "But don't do the same thing with her… I can't lose you like that... not again."
Her anger faltered at his broken tone. Her eyes weren't the only ones moist at that point. "Kalego-kun… It's going to be alright. You have to trust in us", she ventured, offering a soft smile.
Both knew how badly it hurt to lose a loved one and just what horrors had been visited upon their beloved Pandora, and neither could bear to see it replayed upon the other.
Taking a deep breath, Kalego calmed himself. "Alright, we'll discuss it further tomorrow", he ceded. She smiled, pleased at the compromise.
That night, neither got much sleep. They were far too busy reaffirming their bonds. The next morning, Kalego woke up groggy. Beside him laid Persephone's naked body. He grinned to himself as he got up. It had been one hell of a night.
In the time it took it to use the restroom and make coffee, something horrible had happened. Standing at their bedside, both mugs fell from his hands, shattering on the floor. The color drained from his face at the sight of her blood. It was everywhere and carved into her belly was Victoria's crest.
Rushing forward, he tried to stir her, but her eyes were hollow. "No", repeated in his mind, starting in shock, then turning into anger and the refusal to give up. Remembering something important she had told him, he hurried into action.
Gathering her body into his arms, he found she was still warm, but not breathing. Focusing on her past words, he followed her emergency directions. Biting open his finger, he drew a summoning seal over her chest with his own blood. Swallowing hard, the next step wouldn't be easy for him.
He dipped a finger into her blood and drove it deep into her heart. He could feel a pulse of magic as he did so. A blinding light overtook the room with a raucous screech. When the light finally passed, he struggled to focus his blurred vision. Thankfully, he heard a gasp.
Smiling through grateful tears, he hugged her tightly as red feathers drifted down around them. Her familiar was exceedingly rare, a phoenix, and it had successfully saved her life with his help.
Persephone coughed the blood from her lungs as her wounds and the small hole in her chest sealed over. She was back. "Kalego-kun", she called weakly. He was too shaken to speak. He held her close, thankful for her mastery of recovery magic.
A faint "cheep" noise caught his attention. A small, downy covered bird sat beside them, slowly burning a hole in their sheets.
Finally having regained herself, Persephone kissed him deeply. "You remembered", she grinned. He smiled back, emotionally exhausted, but grateful for his good memory.
"Are you alright?", he uttered, searching her face nervously. Her soft smile calmed his racing heart. "I'm okay thanks to you two", she said. Unwrapping herself from his firm embrace, she picked up the fledgling, cupping it gently in her hands. Its flames didn't hurt her, though.
She kissed the little bird's head with gratitude. "Now we just have to wait for you to grow up again", she said, petting it gently with a single finger. Beside her, she could see Kalego tensing up again.
"We don't have time for that", he stated darkly. He was right, of course. Neither of them had even registered the danger until it was too late. It had likely been one of Victoria's lackeys. She was more likely to draw out Persephone's death, enjoying every torturous second. This assassination had been clean - A single deep slit across her throat.
It was clearly a warning and a test. It was highly likely that Ai knew about Persephone's familiar and abilities. That also meant that she knew the phoenix wouldn't be able to save her again any time soon. Its growth was proportionate to how much mana Persephone poured into it. After that little stunt, she would be tapped out for at least a few days.
Kalego guarded her nonstop as she recovered, even calling Sullivan for a substitute for his class. He wouldn't let Victoria get so close to her again.
A few days later, Persephone had begrudgingly agreed to Kalego's plan. She would be safer the farther away she got. She had only agreed to keep from hurting him again. Otherwise, she would have gladly stayed by his side.
He'd clearly been worried about her, but he started keeping his distance as soon as she could walk again.He'd taken on an almost cold demeanor. It was his way of making sure she followed through. He knew that Victoria was watching for signs of affection, so it made it look like they were fighting, a hope that it would lessen the immediate danger. Persephone wasn't sure which hurt worse - losing him or knowing there was nothing she could do about it.
Calls were made and plans were set in motion. He somehow maintained a stoic appearance as she kissed his cheek goodbye. She knew he would fall apart later in private and it made her sick to her stomach that Victoria was causing so much heartache yet again.
Balam came to help see her off that day and to support his best friend. It was hard to watch, but he understood why Kalego did it. He only hoped that Pandora did, too, as she watched over them from beyond.
Persephone called when she reached her new post. It went to voice-mail. Devastated, they didn't speak again until it was well known that Ai was back in custody. It was a short, impersonal conversation. Balam silently watched Kalego struggle through it on one end and Narnia quietly accepted his new ward on the other.
In time, Lady Nene would appear at their camp and take a shine to the gloomy young woman, eventually making her her protégé and helping her work through the holes in her soul.
An occasional letter or call would pass between the shattered couple until they got back to being long distance friends. They wouldn't meet face to face again for almost a decade.
To be continued...