Chapter 1 I am Eas

I am going to die.

I squint at those five words. I let them ricochet around in my head like a pinball. I let them roll around on my tongue like a piece of candy. I disect them like a science project, I mess with them like a fidget cube. But no matter what I do with them, I always get the same message. I am going to die. But that's not all. I'm not just going to die.

I am going to die today.

I got the note from Lord Moebius this morning. It was delivered to me via Klein. I can still see the words that were written on the page. Even though they were not verbally spoken to me, I can hear them echoeing in my ears.

Your life span expires today. May you rest in peace.

This is not how I thought it would end. I do not want it to end this way, but apparently, Moebius does. This is what Lord Moebius wants, so logically, I should be happy. After all, he only wants what's best for me. Right?

I don't know what is wrong with me. My whole life, my entire existence, I have been told that Moebius wants what is best for everyone. So, why aren't I happy with the fate he has selected for me? I have followed him faithfully. I have done everything he has asked me to do. Well, almost everything. There is one thing that I have failed to do, and that is destroy Momozono Love. Aka, Cure Peach.

I hate her; I absolutely hate her. She is a conundrum to me. She found out my identity of Eas, yet she still looks at me with pity when I am in pain. She still looks at me like a friend. She still calls me Setsuna.

Setsuna. I hate the name. I hate the girl. Setsuna and Love are the people who ruined my life. They are the reason Morbius no longer values me. They are the reason I am going to die. And because of this, I know that they have to die too. I can't do much of anything about Setsuna, but thankfully I don't have to. She will die with me. However, Love won't. I have to do something about Cure Peach.

And believe me, that is exactly what I plan to do.

...

I was not aware that the sky had the ability to feel emotions, but apparently I was wrong. It is gray today, and stinky tears are pouring from it in torrents. I hate the smell of rain. It never rains in Labryinth.

What makes it worse is that the rain is ruining my hair. The droplets are attatching themselves to the violet strands, creating a sticky mess. I want to tear my hair out. The only reason I am in my Setsuna form right now is to show Cure Peach that she is making a mistake coming to fight her friend. That is one way I can get revenge on Momozono Love and Higashi Setsuna; it is a double edged sword. The only problem is I can't hurt Setsuna without putting myself through agony. Everytime I look in the mirror as Setsuna, I want to punch the girl I see in the face.

I wait under the depressing sky for Love, who shows up almost immediately. She is untransformed at the moment. Part of me finds that extremely funny. Another part finds it infuriating.

"So you decided to fight," I said.

"No," Love objects. "I did not come here to fight. I came here to rescue my friend from Labryinth."

I scoff with contempt.

"Then you are a fool of the highest caliber." I put my fists together and rub them against each other. "Switch over!"

My clothes change to my Labryinth attire, and my hair changes to a bluish white. Love gets out her transformation device.

"Change! Precure Beat Up!"

Love is bathed in a pink light, and when it clears Cure Peach stands there. I smirk.

"Cure Peach. You had better savor every minute of this battle, for it will be your last."

Your life span expires today. May you rest in peace.

As if she had heard those words, Love looks at me sadly.

"Setsuna..."

"Setsuna...doesn't exist!" I shout back. "She's a character; a facade. She's a mask I wore just so I could spy on you." I grit my teeth and glare at my "friend." "I lied straight to your face, and you're telling me you weren't even hurt by that!?"

The sadness in Cure Peach's eyes grows stronger. There is also a glimmer of denial there.

"Maybe your backstory wasn't real. But the memories we share are!"

That was when I lunge at her. Cure Peach also jumps forward and blocks my attack. I will give her this; she has quick reflexes.

"Of course I am hurt," Love says miserably. "How can I not be? You were my friend. I trusted you!"

"Then why are we fighting like this?"

"BECAUSE I WANT MY FRIEND BACK!"

I throw a punch toward Love's face, she throws one at mine. We both are pushed back by the impact. Growling, I spring into the air, and Love does the same.

"Love!"

I look down at the ground and see Love's teammates; Aono Miki (Cure Berry) and Yamabuki Inori (Cure Pine). Tart and Chiffon are also there. Miki pulls out her transformation device.

"No!" Cure Peach calls out. "Leave this to me!"

I want to chuckle. Peach wants the battle to be between me and her. Good, that is what I want as well. At least Miki and Buki were smart enough to not trust me.

"Setsuna, please!" Love begs me.

There it is again; that wretched name! That is not who I am! I am Eas, denzien of Labryinth and faithful servant to Lord Moebius! That is who I am, and that is the name people will remember me by.

"We are you doing this!?" I scream at Peach. "Why are you so determined to make my life hell?"

I start sending a barrage of punches at her.

"Why are you like this!?" I scream. My tears are starting to mix with the tears of the sky. "How is it that you can look at the sky on a miserable day like today and still see something good? You know that fortune I gave you when we first met? It was false! Yet you still believed it; you turned it into a self-fulfilling prophecy!"

I am surrounded by a red light now. Peach is surrounded by a pink one. I am practically arm wrestling her right now.

"I have never understood you! You are a mystery to me; you do not exist!" I choke back tears. "How can you be this way when I can't! I...I'm...JEALOUS OF YOU!"

Love unleashes her hold on me, at the same time that I unleash my hold on her. We fall to the ground and lie in the muck. My breath comes out slowly.

"There. I said it. I'm jealous of you." I close my eyes tightly. " Because you found something...that I never could."

That is the truth; that was the truth all along. I am jealous of Momozono Love. I just didn't realize it until now.

"Setsuna, look."

I lift me head and turn to Love. She is pointing at a four leaf clover.

"These are supposed to be good luck." She carefully plucks it from the ground. "When I met you, I felt like I had found a zillion of these."

I grin. Zillion isn't even a number. Nevertheless. I take it from her. From my friend.

"It is rather nice."