Here's Chapter 2. This story, I'm actually pretty happy with it, even if it's caused a lot of research about ghosts and vengeance and the like. However, it's going to be a lot darker than anything I've written so far, but I hope you enjoy it ^_^
Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.
Chapter 2- What Does Vengeance Mean to You?
"So, are you looking forward to seeing the movie?" I ask Shizuka as we make our way to the movie theatre in downtown Ishiyama.
Shizuka shrugs her shoulders. "Well, I think it should be good, since it's got some great reviews," she says. "Though, I'm wondering how they're going to retell the Yotsuya Kaidan in the modern era."
"Me too," I agree. "But to be honest, the plot really sounds good. I can't wait to see it."
It's the weekend, and Shizuka and I are going to see a new movie that's released recently. It's a Japanese horror movie that's got really good reviews from the critics. Known as Oiwa's Revenge, it's a modern retelling of the Yotsuya Kaidan, one of my favourite kabuki plays.
"Just by the title, I can tell that this is gonna be good," I say, my voice laced with eagerness.
Eventually, we reach the movie theatre, where we see a lot of people. Shizuka turns to me. "I'm just going to the bathroom. Can you wait?" she asks.
"Sure," I say.
Once she leaves for the bathroom, I sit down near a small table. Right then, to my surprise, I hear the sound of someone pulling out the chair opposite of me and sitting down in it. When I turn to see who it is, I can't stop myself from smiling. "Hecadoth," I greet.
"Yumi," he greets, giving me a smile as he takes my hand and kisses it.
I blush slightly at the action. "How are you?" I ask.
"Fine, really," he says. "And you?"
I nod. "I'm good," I say. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here with the Pillar Squad to see a movie," he tells me. "It's called Oiwa's Revenge. And you?"
"Shizuka and I are actually going to see that movie as well!" I tell him eagerly. "I'm really excited about seeing it. What about you?"
"I guess I'm also looking forward to seeing it," he agrees. "After all, there's going to be revenge, and I'm interested in seeing how it happens."
A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead. Well, I guess I should've expected that, since he's a demon and he loves anything to do with revenge.
Right then, I notice Shizuka coming out from the bathroom. "Yumi, let's go," she tells me.
I nod. "Yeah." I then wave to Hecadoth. "See you!" I give him a small kiss on the cheek before making my way to the usher to show our tickets. Much to our surprise, it's Toujou.
"Tora?" Shizuka says in surprise.
Upon seeing Shizuka, Toujou smiles. "Hey, Shizuka!" he greets cheerfully. "So, which movie are you here to see?"
"Oiwa's Revenge," Shizuka tells him as I hand over our tickets.
"Okay then, that'll be in number 7, on your left," he tells us. "Enjoy the movie!"
We make our way to the theatre and find some decent seats. "This should be good," I say as we sit down. I proceed to remove my teal winter coat while Shizuka removes hers.
"I never thought I'd see Tora here," Shizuka muses. "Well, I'm not surprised. He's always been working multiple jobs."
I nod. Right then, we notice four other people coming to sit beside us. Much to my surprise, it's Hilda, Aoi, Nene, and another tall girl with short brown hair. Upon seeing Shizuka and I, they look at us in surprise.
"Shizuka? Yumi?" Aoi says in surprise. "You're here too?!"
I smile. "Long time no see, Aoi," I tell her. I then turn to the brown-haired girl. "And you are…?"
She smiles at me. "Oga Misaki. Nice to meet you," she says.
"Wait, what?" I stare at her in surprise. She's Oga's sister? "You're Oga Tatsumi's sister?"
"That's right! And the former leader of the Red Tails!" she confirms. "I came with Hilda, since she was interested in seeing this movie."
Hilda smiles slightly. "I wanted to see what this movie is like, seeing as it's based on an old play. I can't wait to see the movie," she says.
Nene blushes slightly. "I dragged Aoi-neesan here," she tells us.
Shizuka smiles. "Ah, no worries," she reassures them. "You can sit by us."
"Oh, by the way, what are your names?" Misaki asks us.
I smile. "My name's Tanaka Yumi," I introduce.
"Nanami Shizuka," Shizuka introduces. "We're both 3rd-years from St. Ishiyama."
"Nice!" Misaki says.
Right then, we see the Pillar Squad coming in and settling down in two rows. Upon seeing Hecadoth, I wave at him, and he waves back before sitting down next to Graphel and starting a conversation with him. Seeing as there's only a few more minutes before the movie starts, I turn to Hilda to ask something.
"Hilda?" I ask.
She turns to me. "What is it?"
"What does vengeance mean to demons?" I ask.
"Well, vengeance means a lot of things for us demons," she admits. "However, the most basic thing is that for us, vengeance is an eye for an eye. For example, if a demon rapes the daughter of a family, it is required for the mother of the wronged family to avenge the daughter by publicly castrating the rapist before beheading him. That actually became a law after a demon woman had done that to the man who raped her daughter."
My eyes widen in shock. "Seriously?"
Hilda smiles. "It is a good law, in my opinion," she says.
"But what does vengeance mean to you, Hilda?" I ask.
"What does vengeance mean to me?" Hilda thinks for a moment, and I see her visible eye closing in thought, before she opens it slightly. "To me, vengeance is a necessity. For me not to exact vengeance on anyone who dishonours my master or my family would be shocking and an insult to my family. The most important thing is that vengeance must be slow and torturous for the offender, so that they can realize that they brought it upon themselves moments before a painful death." She gives me a slight nod. "I hope that answers your question, Yumi."
Right then, the theatre lights dim, letting us know that the movie is about to start. After the trailers for upcoming films, the movie finally starts. Much to my pleasure, the movie manages to showcase the story so well in that it still fits with the original theme and spirit of the kabuki play. Also, the horror is how the ghost of Oiwa is rarely ever shown, and when she is, it's a very simple, yet horrifying reveal of her ghost. Overall, the movie ends up being extremely well-made and well-acted.
When the movie ends, I glance over at Shizuka, and I see a look of pure shock on her face. "O-Oi… Shizuka, are you okay?" I ask as I get up.
She slowly stands up. "Well… I can now say for sure that I am never watching horror movies ever again," she tells me.
"That was actually really good," Misaki says, smiling slightly.
Hilda smirks. "Serves that filthy Iemon right," she adds. "He deserved all the humiliation and mental torture she gave him."
When we arrive in the lobby, I see the Pillar Squad hanging around and talking. "Hecadoth!" I call, making my way over to him. "What'd you think of the movie?" I ask.
He smirks. "It was pretty fucking good," he tells me. "I especially enjoyed the slaughter of the Ito family at Iemon's hands. That was very satisfying."
I laugh slightly. "Yeah, that scene could make a demon proud…"
"What about you?" he asks.
"I loved it," I tell him. "I especially loved how Osode and Oiwa were portrayed." I then turn slightly to go to Shizuka. "Anyways, can I talk to you later?"
"Sure. See you," he says.
"See ya!" I make my way over to Shizuka, before the both of us start leaving the theatre and making our way to the metro station to go home.
As we walk to the metro station, I recall what Hilda had said about vengeance and what it means to her, and I can't help but feel a strange curiosity towards this topic. I then glance at Shizuka. "Oi, Shizuka," I say, getting her attention as we entered the metro station.
"Mm?" She turns to face me.
"You know, I was just wondering… what does vengeance mean to you?" I ask her.
Shizuka looks surprised for a moment. "Vengeance? Well…" She thinks for a moment. "I honestly don't believe in vengeance. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, right?"
"How come?"
"Vengeance never really has a good outcome for both parties. The one enacting revenge will be poisoned with hatred and in the end, they may end up doing more harm than good, you know? I believe that people should let justice come naturally. After all, justice may be delayed, but it'll always be fulfilled." She then turns to me. "What about you, Yumi? What does vengeance mean to you?"
At that moment, the metro arrives and we climb aboard it, sitting down in two seats. As we do so, I think about Shizuka's question. "Vengeance, huh?" I muse as I look outside the window.
"To me, vengeance is to let the punishment fit the crime," I admit. "For example, if someone rapes a woman, let them be castrated and fed to the dogs. If someone is a child molester, let them be murdered by the inmates. Basically, I believe that the punishment for certain crimes must be befitting of the crime itself."
Shizuka laughs nervously. "Yumi… that's seriously violent," she tells me. "Are you like some kind of demon?"
I laugh wryly. "Yeah, maybe. I'm kinda fucked-up when it comes to this kind of stuff."
Eventually, the metro reaches the stop which is closest to St. Ishiyama, which is the way we go home. After leaving the station, we continue walking home, going past the school building. By now, it's nighttime, and the snow is falling rather heavily from the sky. I glance at the school, and a slight shiver runs up my spine.
"Ever noticed how the school looks kinda scary at night?" I ask. However, that's when I see it, and I automatically stop in my tracks.
"Yumi?" Distantly, I hear Shizuka calling to me, but my attention is drawn towards one of the windows on the third floor of the school. It looks like there's a person in that window, just standing there. However, since we're kind of far from the building, I can't make out the figure clearly.
"Shizuka…" I say. "There's someone in the school."
Shizuka looks at me incredulously. "Wait, what?"
"Look." I point at the window, where the figure is still standing.
Shizuka's eyes widen in surprise. "You're right…"
We can't really make out as to who it might be, but because of the moonlight shining, we are able to see the vague outline of the person in the window. However, because we're too far from the school, and the gates are locked, we're unable to get closer to see who it is. They aren't doing anything in the window, they're just... staring at us.
"Who is that?" I ask.
Shizuka shakes her head. "No idea. No one should be in the school right now, it's the weekend," she says. "The school should be locked."
"Hold on, I'll see if I can call the police to-" I glance back at the window to see if they're still there, but to my surprise, they're gone.
"What the-?! They're gone!" I say in surprise. "But they were just there!"
Shizuka stares at the school building in suspicion. "Something really is not right," she muses. "Why would anyone be in the school right now? And how would they have been able to get in if the school is locked?"
An uneasy feeling stirs in my gut. "Let's just go home," I suggest. "We'll try and figure it out tomorrow."
"Good idea."
Shizuka and I continue on our way home, and to try and distract ourselves from what we just saw, we talk about our plans for the future as well as our club activities. However, this does little to calm me down, as a seed of doubt has been planted in my mind. For some reason, I find my thoughts going back to the case of Shibuya Airi, and the story of a ghost wandering the halls of St. Ishiyama. Could it really be…?
No. It's just a story, there's no way it could be her ghost. But still… why is this constantly coming up?
After parting ways with Shizuka, I make my way into my house. "I'm back!" I call.
"Welcome back," Mom greets. "How was the movie?"
"You'd have loved it," I tell her. "A tale of vengeance and justice. It would've made a demon proud."
Mom laughs. "That's true," she says.
"In fact, I had a discussion about vengeance with Shizuka right after," I laugh.
After talking with Mom and Dad for a bit, I go up to my room and just throw myself onto my bed. As I stare up at the ceiling, I think about the person in the school. Who was it, and why were they just staring out from the window?
The more I think about it, the more my doubt increases. Something is incredibly strange about it, and to be honest… paranormal. I sigh as I close my eyes, deciding that I should try and forget about it. If I think about this too much, it'll eat away at my sanity.
No… I don't think I can forget about it. I decide to tell Hecadoth about this tomorrow. Maybe he might understand my concerns.