Tuesday came with a shining morning sun. Amuro followed his routine: wake up early, go for a jog, have a shower, dress up and have breakfast.
As always, he was careful to enter the room, this time though, he entered through the other door, so no prank was awaiting him.
"Morning Rika-chan, Satoko-chan!"
"Good morning Amuro-kun" They answered in unison.
Like always, they dedicated to talk and pass the time while their other friends arrived. Mion and Rena came together, while Keiichi came alone and fell on Satoko's classic bucket trap.
"SATOKO!" He growled and started to chase her. Rika and Mion were paying attention to this event while Amuro was calmly sitting on his desk.
"Yeah, normal days... I really wish that it could stay this peaceful" He thought. Rena sat in Mion's desk to be by his side.
"And… Amuro-kun, how has your time in the village being like?" Rena asked him.
"It's been great. The village itself is pretty serene and comfortable to live in, but you guys have really helped a lot to make these the best days of my life"
"Really? Rena is so happy to hear that!"
"But that's not what you came here to talk about is it?"
"Wow Amuro-kun, I didn't think you were so perceptive"
"So, what is it?"
"As you know I'm pretty close to Mii-chan, and before you arrived some things happened that were making her pretty sad..."
"Yeah, Mion told me. I perfectly know what you're talking about"
"But since the day of your arrival I've seen you grow pretty close to each other, and she has told me how much you have comforted her and made her happy"
"That's the same for me. Before knowing her my life was pretty dull" It wasn't technically a lie considering that he himself did not exist before.
"Mii-chan is an excellent friend, and everyone else is too. Keiichi-kun is just not aware of how his words affect others sometimes"
"I know what it is to not understand the others' behaviour and reactions, and mark my words, I'm even more terrible than Kei-chan at that. I've been lucky to make the right choices that's all"
"Anyway, I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making Mii-chan so happy"
"Oh it's nothing really. If there's someone who has made me happy that's her. The least I could do was help her through her hardships…"
"And another thing… Well, Rena is not 100% sure…" She had trouble picking the right words.
"Huh? What is it?" He did not expect something else.
"But Rena thinks… Rena thinks that Mii-chan likes Amuro-kun"
"Eh…?"
"It's just a hunch! But… This morning she was acting a bit strange, and when I mentioned your name she got a bit red…"
"I see" He was still digesting what she was saying.
"Please! Don't tell Mii-chan that Rena told you anything! But I thought that this was something you had to know…"
"I understand Rena, thank you for telling me"
"So, Amuro-kun, do you happen to like Mii-chan too?"
"Eh! Well… That's… A bit complicated…" He was really troubled by the idea of accepting his true feelings.
"Explain. Explain" Rena insisted.
"It's just that, Mion is my best friend, it's kinda hard to imagine her as something more, and I don't think I deserve more either"
"What do you mean?"
"Just think about it, Mion is so beautiful, she's the heir of her family, and... Even though she has her dark side here and there, she is a wonderful person"
"But why do you feel like you don't deserve her? I wonder... I wonder..."
"I think you can tell why Rena. You of all people, are the only one who feels my dangerous aura" He knew that Rena was very perceptive of that kind of things.
"So it wasn't my imagination. I have always been a bit different myself, but I have to admit that the first time I saw you I felt shivers down my spine, like I was in the presence of some kind of…"
"Demon… And you are not mistaken Rena. I as a human being, killed hundreds. I tried to escape that past by a promise I made to myself not to kill anymore. The problem is, there is someone inside of me who still wants to taste blood. There is an entity screaming for destruction within this body… And as long as he exists, I feel like the more time I spend with Mion the greater danger she's in…"
"You have, like a split personality?"
"Something like that. He's far from human though. He torments me with nightmares, dark visons and awful thoughts, and when he speaks to me it's only to say the most dreadful things you could imagine"
"That's even worse than Rena thought"
"Yeah… It's for that reason that it's complicated. But to answer your question with complete honesty, I… I love Mion. I've tried to think otherwise and to be more distant with her to prevent this situation, but the truth is that I love her with my ice cold heart, that's something I thought was impossible"
"Is there some way you can escape him?"
"Oh I really wish there is Rena… Otherwise, I'll have to get as far as possible from her to prevent that any damage is done"
"If there is something I can do, tell me as soon as possible"
"Rika and Mion have said similar things. Haha, you all truly are great friends"
"Rika knows?"
"Oh Rika knows a lot more than you think, about many things, but we'll tell you in due time"
"It's okay. Well, let's join the rest until class starts!" Rena tried to cheer him up.
"Yeah"
The rest of the day advanced normally until Physical Education. Rika had to go to practice her ritual dance, so the Club was called off for that day.
The next days were similar, no Club games, just good times between friends that lasted until the end of class.
On thursday Amuro went to the market after school to buy all the ingredients to make a delicious curry. He practiced at dinner, and the result was a delicious meal, not comparable to Mion's though.
"If only she had made it…" He thought as he put the spun in his mouth. "If only she was here with me now… If only I could play with her ponytail… If only I could touch her soft hands... If only I could hold her in my arms like I did that time, and kiss her without the fear that everything gets completely ruined afterwards…"
Mion, for her part, had already eaten and was laying in her bed thinking about Amuro. "If only I had the courage to tell him how much I love him" She thought as she closed her eyes in hopes of a better day.
Friday came, and thanks to Mion, Amuro wasn't surprised by the scenery at the school that day. Tables full of ingredients and cooking utensils as well as pots.
"Today's objective is to cook the best curry possible! The firefighters of Okinomiya will come to judge the quality of the food you make, as well as I and the Principal, so do your best!" Chie told everyone.
"What the hell? How was I supposed to know about this?!" Keiichi was astonished.
"Too bad Kei-chan, but you better start moving, cause this is also today's Club activity, so if you can't solve this situation you're going to be declared the loser" Mion told him.
"Oh c'mon!"
"Keiichi, I can give you a bag of rice, there was some remaining from my meal yesterday, so you can have it" Amuro told him.
"For real Amuro-kun? Yeah! I knew you weren't as evil as Mion is! Thanks a lot!"
"Don't screw it up though, I won't be able to give you more" Amuro told him this, but knew the result of that day's competition anyway.
In the end, Keiichi's food got screwed up twice, but he managed to turn a salty rice into Onigiri and gave it to the judges. Even though it wasn't curry, he tried as hard as he could to convince the Principal and Chie-sensei that Curry and Onigiri were the same in essence (something a bit far-fetched) but got the perfect score. Mion's curry was an absolute 100/100 (if not better), Amuro's was also pretty good (90/100), followed by Rena's curry that had a special homemade taste (85/100), and finally Rika's and Satoko's, that was pretty good, but not as good as the others (70/100). All of them were marked as perfect, but Rika and Satoko lost to Keiichi, who had made a pact with the kids that helped him. Due to Keiichi's food being the only one that wasn't curry, it was completely devoured by the judges who were tired of eating the same.
Keiichi went home very hungry, but fortunately to him, Mion decided to dress up as Shion to give him a delicious meal. She was very up to date with the meetings Keiichi had with Shion during the last weeks, so she had no problem with that plan. She proved to Keiichi that she could be as girly as her sister, even though he had no idea of it.
When Mion returned home she rang to Amuro's house and told him about the encounter.
"Hey Amuro, you won't believe what I just did" She told him with a hint of embarassment.
"You gave Kei-chan a nice meal pretending to be Shion?" He decided to say what he truly knew just to play with her.
"Exact- EH! How did you?"
"Hahaha, it was just a guess. After all, you wanted to prove to yourself that you could be as girly as your sister and Keiichi had no food left today, plus the fact that you cook damn good, it gives the result I just concluded" Of course he knew due to Omnipresent Perception.
"That's one hell of an analysis you just did"
"Anyway, are you happy now?"
"Yeah. I mean, I already was feeling a lot better, but I wanted to get that over with once and for all. I was a bit embarrassed at first, I've got to admit, but I think I plaued the part pretty well. Actually, I think that was my girly side, not Shion's, so it's mission accomplished"
"That's great to hear. What are you doing today?"
"Well, I think the whole weekend I'll be working at my uncle's shop. After all, this is the last weekend before Watanagashi, so I have to earn as much money as I can so we can spend it on that day"
"I see. Well, I think it's been a while since I've rested at home for a weekend, so I guess it wouldn't be so bad to do that this time"
"Hey, but don't feel like you cannot go out just because I won't be there. There are four more people you can hang out with"
"Well, it's true that I love spending time with you, but for real Mion, I just want to relax this couple days before the festival next week"
"You're free to do what you want as long as you're happy, Amuro. You can come see me if you want, but I'll be a bit busy unless it's at dusk"
"Nah, it's alright this way. I'll see you if I feel like it, but you do your thing and don't worry about me, as long as I'm relaxed there's no chance that he does one of his tricks"
"That's good to hear. Well, see you soon Amuro, and don't forget to help at the festival next weekend"
"Yeah, I'll be there, don't worry. Your grandmother will be pleased with my hard work"
"Hahaha, yeah you just show her. Well, I gotta go, take care!"
"You too Mion, have a nice weekend"
He grabbed his Shamisen and started to solo while thinking about the events that were about to happen.
"Tomorrow Keiichi will know the truth about the twins. I wonder if Mion will be affected by this as badly as in the original course of events. I hope she doesn't, but it's a possibility that she's bothered by it at the very least. After that, the next important thing is that Akasaka should arrive on either Thursday or Friday. By now, Tomitake should be already staying at the alternate location to avoid spies, and Irie knows the whole modus operandi. On Saturday Keiichi will be told about the Curse of Oyashiro-sama while I and Mion help around the place. On Watanagashi everything will follow its normal course until Rika-chan disappears after the dance. From that point on, it's more or less blind faith. I can predict Shion's behaviour though and already designed the plan to counter that. Everything seems perfect so far, but I am still worried about Voracité… I honestly have no idea what he's planning to do"
After another while playing he did as usual: cook dinner, eat it and call it a day.
As he slept he dreamed of himself in a pitch black world.
"What the?" He was illuminated by a blinding light that came from nowhere.
"Destruction is... Waiting to fill a void" A known voice said.
"Huh?"
"A void that exists due to your very existence"
"Who are you?"
Another blinding light appeared and showed his other self standing a couple meters from him.
"I'm your brother Psychan. Your elder twin" Said Voracité, who didn't seem hostile. In fact he seemed somewhat sad.
"I still don't understand. Why do you do this?"
"I asked you the same that time"
"Wha-"
"You don't remember, I know... But these empty eyes... Used to be yours" He said with a bleak look.
Psychan tried to speak, but no words came from his mouth. Why was his other half so passive? What did he mean? Before getting any more knowledge he woke up.
"It wasn't... It wasn't really a nightmare..." He said to himself. "It was more like... Having a civilized conversation with him, but how was that possible?"
Amuro felt like he had forgotten something, so he tried hard to remember. Nothing came to his mind however.
"What the hell is going on?" He thought finally in frustration.
He couldn't go back to sleep, so he decided to start a Saturday of relaxation and introspection. For that he decided to go to a grassy road by the river.
Once he arrived he closed his eyes and tried to speak to his other half in a different way. This time, he wanted to somehow enter his own consciousness. Through concentration, he managed to enter a state in which he saw the same dark void he saw in his dream.
"Voracité!" He screamed and heard an eco resonating through the whole abstract space.
A small silence was heard before he appeared before him "The fuck you want?"
He was not the same as he was in that dream. He was the typical entity he hated.
"I want answers"
"And what makes you think that I'm just gonna answer them?" He answered with a grin.
"That we could finally solve this situation?"
"There's nothing to solve... I hate you, you hate me, that's all there is to it, which reminds me... In this state, you are in a DEAD END"
The void suddenly changed form. It turned into a devastated version of the village. Burning houses, shattered roads, buildings turned to scraps and a river stained with blood were now in sight.
"What the?"
"This is what I want to create Psychan. You always want a reason... But the truth is, I just want to destroy, have some fun fufufufu" He covered his eye with his left hand.
"And I want to protect this world! Why can't you understand that what you're doing is senseless!"
"My existence is pointless, yours is too. We don't belong here brother!"
"But that doesn't mean that we have permission to destroy this world!"
"Hm? That's weird. I can perfectly remember how you used to tell me that you wanted to destroy everything in your path..."
"You don't mean-"
"I tried to stop you, but you disintegrated me"
"I thought I-"
"What? You thought you did that to protect this world? No, no, no. You wanted to destroy me. You wanted to control this body so bad, that you were willing to kill your own twin for it!"
"I don't understand..."
"THERE'S NOTHING FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND SO JUST DIE ALREADY!" He opened his hand and looked at Psychan with a frenzy look as he raised his hand and a Scythe appeared on it.
Psychan realised what had happened. In this world they were both able to control the sorroundings and to create anytging at will. This was their collective subconscious.
"I do not want to be like you..." He muttered. "But you leave me no choice!" Psychan summoned the same Scythe.
They started clashing against each other fiercely. In this place however, they were still able to use their powers, and to their full extent.
"You are dead" Psychan said as he used his psychic ability to make the Scythe fly and attack from the distance. His enemy had no chance.
"PSYCHAN!" He shouted as the Scythe stabbed him in the stomach and fell to the place's ground.
Psychan went to his side. "You are no match for me" He told him and pulled the weapon out of his body.
He turned his back and started walking away.
"This... This is far from over..." The defeated foe muttered.
In the fantasy world appeared five individuals on the space between the twins. It was the club members.
"Huh? What are you guys doing here?" Psychan asked them, but got no answer. They just smiled at him from the distance.
It all seemed normal, until he heard footsteps coming from behind them.
"You thought it was that easy? You stupid cunt..." Voracité smiled as he slashed through the bodies of his friends. It was an illusion, Psychan knew that, but the view seemed so real that he was still shocked to see his friends organs and spine out of their bodies.
"No..." He managed to say in shock.
His brother started munching the corpses flesh and drinking their blood. As he did, a red aura started to flow from his body.
"This is my ability! Through the consume of human flesh and blood I not only regenerate, but become stronger as well!"
"Voracité... A glutonous abomination" Psychan muttered.
"Time of dying" He appeared on his back and slashed him. Psychan manged to dodge in the last possible moment though. He was astonished by the speed that his evil half had obtained.
"You-"
"And you think you can escape? Not on my watch... 「Trayus」" He jumped in the air and hit the floor with the Scythe. A big green shockwave started breaking the ground before his feet.
"Argh!" Psychan noticed the attack that was going to hit him and decided to use his telekinesis to mount his Scythe and fly out of the range of the attack.
"You can't win Psychan... 「Aphasia」" He said as he created a large purple energy ball.
"Those names... Those spells are-"
"The spells that you can only cast if you have the fragment of Apothéose, yes!"
"It's because we're here isn't it?"
"It may not be perfect as I can only use Chaos, but it's enough to finish you off" He threw the dark energy ball towards his good half.
"Tsk! 「Catharsis」!" Psychan created a blue explosive protective field that threw the ball away from sight.
"The powers of Illusion. They are not nearly as destructive as Chaos, but their defensive properties are out of this world..." Voracité muttered in anger.
"These powers are made to be used by one user, this battle will never end if they are divided!"
"Then it's up to us to make a difference!" The evil half shouted.
"「Aurora」" A multi coloured aura covered Psychan.
"That won't save you of this attack"
"The final one... Here it comes!" He braced for Voracité's last stand.
"「Chaos: Insurrection」" A winged giant red snake with a black aura formed of Voracité's energy. It showed the mark of Ouroboros.
Psychan saw the red snake charging towards him at an incredible speed. A wrong decission and it would be the end.
"「Celestial」" From the sky appeared six light blue shooting stars. The stars were aimed directly at the snake's head.
"Nice try, but this is a lot stronger than that!"
But Psychan had used that as a distraction. The clash between the powers formed a thick smoke.
"「Illusion: Maeva」 A final star embedded in a rainbow aura with the same Ouroboros mark fell from the sky. It was directed at Voracité himself.
"Shit" The evil half muttered as he noticed what had happened. The meteor hit him and disintegrated his imaginary self before the snake touched Psychan. The attack vanished in this air and the place went back to its primal black state. Psychan had won.
"*pant* *pant* Is this the end?" He asked himself.
In the space a figure started reshaping from dust. It was Voracité.
"I... I don't think I'll be able to face him now..." He was ready to give up.
"Hey Psychan, if you want answers, now it's the time" This time he had the same look as in his dream.
"You... you won't attack me again?"
"Once the darkness returns I will, so hurry"
"First of all, who are you?"
"Well, I am Voracité. But not the demon, I am what's left of his true self, which was a lot like you are now"
"What happened?"
"The one who wins this mental battle wins control over the body. This body... It used to be mine. I was the first entity to exist, you came later"
"And then I..."
"Yeah, you wanted control, but you wanted destruction too..."
"Which is why you tried to stop me..."
"Your ability was always more powerful than mine though"
"But when did this all happen? Didn't we arrive a couple weeks ago?"
"That time you woke up... It wasn't because you had just arrived, it was because we had just switched places"
"What were we doing before that?"
"To be honest not much. We travelled to Hinamizawa village in a journey of 3 days. We arrived in the mountains the first time. I used Apparition to summon clothes that fitted the actual era and place. During those days, every time I slept, you would appear and torment me in nightmares. When we finally arrived, I decided to face you in the same way you just did, and I lost..."
"But that means that if I give you control you will be normal, just like I, won't you?"
"The problem is Hinamizawa syndrome"
"You don't say..."
"With the syndrome, paranoia and delusions affect the infected person. The plan that I designed in my evil state was to put you on the brink of insanity and take control of the body. That way, the illness would work with our vicious tendencies only, throwing aside all humanity we have"
"So I can't let this illness beat me or..."
"...We will kill everyone and destroy everything"
"I... I don't want that to happen, but I only get worse. I may be an L3 or L4 by now. The only thing keeping me sane are those injections..."
"Time is running out. Psychan, find a way to fix this. For real, I'd kill myself if it was that simple to solve everything, but it's not. You've got to work with the information I just gave you and save everyone ok? I don't blame you for hating me... I used to hate you too... But now all I want is to save the world. Good luck"
"Voracité..." He muttered in the real world. Inside, it felt like hours had gone by, but in reality, only minutes had passed. He noticed that he had nosebleed though, and his neck itched, but he tried as hard as he could not to scratch.
"I think I get it. At first, it was I who didn't have emotions. I was empty and filled with hate. I defeated him and took his place. However, the one who controls this body obtains emotions too. If the sydrome goes too far however, Voracité will take absolute control in that despicable form of his..."
He stood up, went to the river and washed his face. He felt terribly tired so he went to his house to sleep. Not even hunger woke him up at noon. By 4 PM he was opening his eyes, at the same time that his stomach started growling.
"Dammit... Hey belly, you don't have to do this to me, I already have no fat left in my body for you to chew up"
His stomach growled even louder in protest.
"Well, I guess I'll have to eat something quick" He said to himself as he looked for food to find... "Nothing! Th-there's no food left! But how? I've only eaten sometimes through the weeks, like that monday, on tuesday's afternoon, at midnight on wednesday... Shit, I ate it all..."
His stomach started making some sounds that indicated that the tiny amount of fat in his body was being chewed up.
"If this keeps up... I'll die! Or even worse, I'll eat someone else! (and not even lending the body to him...) I know! I'll find something nice to eat at Okinomiya!" He said teying to keep his cool and to calm his hunger.
The bus was conveniently passing at 16:15 that day, so he took it without further delay. Once in the city, he looked for something tasty and interesting to eat.
He sensed a somewhat familiar smell. Like cheese and tomato sauce, but there was more...
"Pizza? Italian taste?" He thought as he read the sign of the place that originated the delicious smell. "I don't know what the future generations invented, but this doesn't look bad at all..." He thought as he sniffed the food.
After buying two familiar boxes of pepperoni pizza he went to the bench where he had eaten an ice cream the other day.
"Delicious!" He thought as he swallowed slice after slice. "The flavour of the cheese and the tomato sauce has this familiar feeling to it, while the pepperoni add a greasy and salty flavour to the combination. This is truly great and it was pretty fast too!"
After finishing both boxes he laid on the bench. He didn't care if other people were looking at him for doing such thing, so he enjoyed a nice after-meal rest. "I should treat Mion to a pizza one of these days... I'm sure that she would love it!" He smiled as he imagined her expression of joy as she ate a slice of pizza with him. "Yeah, I... I'm not scared anymore. I love that girl! If it wasn't for the trouble that's yet to come I'd tell her right away..."
Cicadas kept crying in the background. It was quite bothering at first, but after a couple days you get used to it. After all, the whole area is swarming with them.
"Actually, I could just use my power on Takano to make her forget about the evil plan and save everyone as simple as that... What's the point of making everyone go through this? No, it has a reason, in the end it is the fact that they survived this and that they defeated destiny thanks to the power of love and friendship. I... I want to be a part of that too you know? It has some risks, but thereward is a lot better"
He stood up and started walking down the street. He passed through Angel Mort and checked the inside from his position. The dessert-festa was being held, and Keiichi was sitting in one of the tables waiting for Shion.
"Yeah, it's all going according to plan. Sorry Mion, but you'll have to go through this uncomfortable moment in order to predict the outcome the better..."
He went to the Arcade and tried beating Mion's score in Galaga. He succeded, as he got to the 6th position, but it took him two hours.
"Sorry girl, but I also like to tease you from time to time" He muttered as he wrote the AA on the scoreboard.
After leaving the place he noticed that it was night already. "I wonder how things went... In any case, I want to make up for her in some way..." He thought about the situation that had just involved the Sonozaki twins and Keiichi. "I know what I must do"
He went to the toy shop and found that it was still open, entering it he noticed that Mion was not there anymore.
"Good night young man, what can I help you- wait a second... Could you be by any chance Amuro-kun?" It was uncle Yoshirou.
"You must be Mion's uncle, she has told me about you"
"Yeah, the same goes for me. I've heard quite a lot. My niece seems very fond of you... But that aside, where you looking for her?"
"Not really. I mean, it would've been great to find her, but that's not what brings me here today"
"And what is it then?"
"I wanted to buy one of those dolls, that one actually" He said pointing at the doll that looked the same as the one Keiichi gave to Rena on that day.
"Oh, I see. You collect them or something?"
"Oh, no no no... It's just for a gift, hahahaha!" He laughed at the awkward question.
"Sorry, sorry. It's not like I thought you were weird or something. You would be astonished to know how many adult men collect these"
"I understand, no worries"
"That would be 13,000¥, quite pricey, are you sure you want this?"
"There's nothing else I'd buy" He said as he gave Yoshirou the money.
"Ok, thank you for buying here. See you soon!" He waved him goodbye.
"Yeah, and just in case, don't tell Mion that I was here now, and more important, that I bought this"
"My lips are sealed don't worry"
"I hope they are, if not..." He looked at him with a slightly menacing look.
"For real! I swear I won't say a word!" He looked intimidated.
"Hahahaha... See ya!" And Amuro went home with the doll in hand.
When he arrived he was ready to cook something quick and sleep, but something broke the routine. The phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Amuro, are you available tomorrow at some time?" Mion's voice was a bit odd, like she was hiding her sorrow.
"All day Mion. Do you need anything?" He knew what was happening.
"I just wanted to see you. And well, talk of course..."
"Weren't you going to work however?"
"I... I don't want to. I already spoke with my uncle and he said it's fine. I won't get paid for tomorrow though..."
"Want me to go pick you up? You are always the one to come here anyway"
"I'd love if you did"
"I'll go as early as possible tomorrow then, good night Mion"
"Good night Amuro"
"I know it may be hard... But try to cheer up. People like you always get better days"
"You... You are far more perceptive lately"
"A wave of intuition washed over me" He said in a poetic way.
"You're so artistic..." She sounded somewhat comforted. "Night!" She snapped at the end and hanged up.
"No matter what... I won't lose. I can't... For my friends... For the world... And for her..." He fell asleep with that single thought in mind.
Next morning he skipped breakfast and went to Mion's place at 9 AM. He brought the doll in a bag. When he ringed the door bell he was surprised to see Mion opening the door herself and running to his arms immediately after.
"You don't know how much I needed this" She told him as she strongly hugged Amuro.
"I may not, but if it makes you happy I'm glad that I'm helping you, so... What happened?"
"It's that dumbass of Kei-chan! He was enjoying some time with Shion and for some reason he was now totally convinced that it was I pretending to be another person. Of course, I can't be girly enough on my own, I have to create a persona and act in some specific way to meet his standards!" She was angry and sad at the same time.
"I don't want to be the Devil's advocate, but I'm sure he didn't meant to hurt you"
"Well he did! He almost bought Shion the doll that I wanted in the first place, and that bitch of my sister rubbed that all over my face. I don't know what the hell's going on with her, but during the last weeks she's been more and more mean to me!" She was now starting to cry.
"Shion wants revenge, that's what happens"
"Huh?"
"Of course. It's natural that she bears a grudge after everything she has gone through. In no case I'm saying this is your fault Mion, please understand. What I want to say, is that she is not acting rationally"
"But I ripped my own nails to make up for her, she saw them, she knows that I went through the same physical pain as she. I wish I could do more!"
"No. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about Satoshi-kun, and the fact that she feels all alone while you have friends on your side"
"She can always join us... I would be so happy if she came to our school and played with us in the Club, but she is too proud to do that, she went to another school in the end"
"Anyway Mion, things will get better, just try to endure a bit more, and you'll see that everything will shine in the end. I wasn't sure to give you this now... But I think you need it, so cheer up!" He said as he gave her the bag.
"What is-" She pulled the doll out and widely opened her eyes as she recognised it. "Amuro... How did you..."
"A good guess?"
"Haha... It's so beautiful, I wanted this one since they arrived at the store, but I never had the courage to buy it myself..." She blushed as she realised that she had received the gift from a man, and not anyone, but the one she loved.
"Ah! Well, Do you... I don't know... Want to eat something? I missed breakfast myself and- " For the first time he was really nervous to be with her.
"Amuro..." She tilted her head towards his.
A part of him was saying "Not again..." But his heart was beating fast and his blood boiled with that feeling.
"Mion..." He accepted her silent request and kissed her right in the lips. This time he felt that nothing could ruin it. He even slipped his tongue towards hers and caressed her cheek with one hand as he kissed her.
Mion's mind was going through a lot more though. "What is this? Déjà vú?" She felt like she knew those lips, that way of kissing. Faint images of they kissing in her room went like a flash through her mind. "It must have been a dream..." She thought as she continued kissing him. She even grabbed his face with her hands, as if she wanted him to do that for ever.
A whole minute passed, and no feeling of emptiness struck him. Voracité was probably still reconstructing himself since his last destruction.
They broke the kiss when the need for air was not possible to postpone.
"*pant* *pant* I feel... Like this... This is what I've always wanted. No one, has ever made me feel like you do..." She told him.
"*pant* I feel the same Mion. There's no other girl I'd ever desire... I love you"
"Say that again" She was struck with joy when he said those words.
"I love you Sonozaki Mion, more than anything in this world" And he kissed her again with even more passion than the last time. He gently grabbed her ponytail and she caressed his fringe with her hand. Finally, he put his hands across her, and hugged her while they kissed.
After that, they stared at each other while panting and letting a giggle or two slip out of pure happiness. This is what love is. They went holding hands to a spot near the river and they cuddled in the grass.
"I want this to last..." They said at the same time.
"For Eternity" She said as she laid on top of him.
"For Evermore" He said at the same time and kissed her again.
However, inside Amuro's head resonated an unwanted voice.
"But I'll make sure it lasts... for Nevermore" Voracité said.
In that moment he started feeling hungry. He couldn't comprehend what that feeling was, but a crescendo of dark thoughts invaded him. "Mion's blood must taste so delicious..." "Her flesh must be God-like..." "Her heart must be so tasty as it drips with blood..."
He started to sweat, his neck started to itch, his hands started to shake and his eyes became those of a pure sense of paranoia.
Mion noticed something weird so she stood up. "Amuro, are you ok?"
"Mion... Get... Get away from me!" He pushed her away and started to walk backwards.
"Amuro... What... What's happening?!" She was scarified by his sudden reaction.
"It's L5... I... I can't control this sense of paranoia, this feeling that sends shivers down my spine, I... I don't want to hurt you Mion, stay back!"
"No... Amuro! You can't do this to me now! We love each other! We are finally happy! I won't leave you!"
"I'D RATHER KILL MYSELF THAN HURT YOU! So please..."
"It's because of that bastard isn't it? IT'S BECAUSE OF THAT FUCKING DEMON! Leave my Amuro alone! I BEG YOU!" She screamed with tears in her eyes.
Then Amuro remembered that there was still one injection left. It was in his pocket. He had to calm himself, and inject the dosis.
"I just have to... Stop shaking... But I can't!" He thought. "Mion! I need you to help me! In my right pocket... There is a syringe with a serum. I need you to inject me with it, as quick as you can!"
She stood still for a second, doubting for a moment, but then replied with decission: "I'll do anything for you!" She ran to him, grabbed the syringe, got it ready to inject in a second and grabbed his left arm with her whole strength as she injected the medicine in a fraction of second. It hurt him, but it was comforting to know that it would all end up soon.
Amuro felt how his symptoms were slowly shutting down. He sat in the grass and buried his face in his hands.
"I can't do this Mion... I really can't" He muttered in tears.
"But I cannot live without you now!"
"You just saw me, I'm not okay Mion. I'm sick, I'm unstable and I just can't bear the thought that I could end up killing you!"
"You will kill me if you leave me..." She said and she hugged him.
"Don't say that... I... I don't want to do this either, but what else can I do?"
"I don't know... But we'll find out, together" And she laid her head on his chest for a couple minutes.
"No Mion... The risk is too high, I'll just erase your memory and you'll be fine" He said after a while of thinking.
"No! How could you do that to me?"
"It's no big deal, you won't remember a thing, I already did it once..."
"You did what?!" Her voice broke.
"I... I did it because I-"
"Because you were afraid to love? Or because you thought that you could just play with me for a while and then make me forget everything?!"
"It's not like that at all..."
"It's not? Well I'll tell you something you Demigod egoist prick: the fact that you can do something doesn't mean that you should. I don't care if you control minds at will, you can't just go around playing with people's memories everytime you screw up! It's not fair for us!"
"But this is for your own good!"
"At what cost?! Forgetting the person I love? Sorry that I wasn't born a witch or a Godess to be able to help you. You know... Just do whatever you want. I'm leaving you by your own, cause that's how you like doing things: ALONE"
"Mion..."
"And one more thing, that stupid negativity of yours is always holding you back. You always say You Can't Win, because that way you're condoning your own failure, before it even happens. Try to be a winner for once and you'll see what I'm talking about. Thanks for the doll..." And she left disappointed and angry.
"*sigh* Guess I fucked up..."
~~~~X~~~~
OMG the feels on this one, it had been a while since I was so motivated writing. A lot of answers appear, but more problems seem to pop up out of nowhere. Well, that's what Amuro gets for being too OP, you can't have everything can you? You Can't Win. I think I feel specially inspired here in Japan. Tokyo and Kyoto are amazing. Tomorrow I go to an aquarium in Osaka so wish me luck! I'll see you in the next chapter.
Darkmatter17, out to the adventure.