"Ayano," Shintaro shook his new wife laying before him, "wake up! Everyone is waiting on us, I'm... I'm waiting on you, wake up!"
There was no response.
The young woman, his love, the only person that truly knew him, and accepted him, not despite, but because of his callous nature, every intricate part of him… she not only accepted, but loved, was laying at the altar. She had suddenly fallen after they were officially wed. How ironic. Shintaro had the lips of a killer.
(You ruin everything, Kisaragi!)
Shintaro didn't deserve Ayano. So many people were better than him. His father, who had a successful business but had his life taken in a tragic accident. His mother, who sacrificed her friendships to take a full time job while taking care of him and his sister. His dear, beautiful sister, who earned fame in the looked-down-upon Bard career, who had a captivating voice and personality, scraped on hand and foot to gain the approval of the masses, and money to help their peasantly income increase. But Shintaro, oh, he was worthless. He provided nothing. He was nothing.
He could see the sihlouettes surrounding him, of his family and neighbors, old classmates… all of them chanting the same phrases. You ruin everything! I thought you were a genius! You're really selfish, aren't you, Kisaragi?
Failure.
Failure.
Failure.
"Shintaro!"
He woke screaming, body dripping with sweat.
"Shintaro, that's so gross! What, are you having second thoughts?" Oh. It was his sister. So... That was a dream.
"No, the opposite, actually," Shintaro said, throwing his sheets off. When did it get so hot? "I'd like to get married before she dies."
Momo looked a little shocked at his statement, but quipped, "You're so impatient, big brother, yet you won't even get changed!"
"Alright, get out so I can. You have to come with me, you haven't practiced at all."
"I have...!" She hadn't really, but that was understandable. Her career was time-consuming, especially when trying to get an education.
He sighed, "Don't worry about it, we still have a few days. Now get out before we're late!"
/
Momo took the lead to the castle with an almost too enthusiastic step - despite the huge crowd around them (the famous singer and soon-to-be prince together!), they managed to get to the castle in one piece.
With two knocks on the huge doors, Momo waited. "Hey, bro, aren't there supposed to be guards here?"
"There are... maybe they got caught up with something in town?" Shintaro mused, "I know a few who are just chronically late."
Momo knocked again, unofficially deciding they would wait a few minutes. Those minutes wore an incredibly tense silence. Although it was only two guards missing, the fact that guards were missing in the first place was eerie in itself.
"Momo," Shintaro started, "do you think-"
"-Shh! Listen,"
"What?"
"It's the sound of me not wanting you to worry! C'mon, aren't there like, strange entrances or something? It's a huge castle!"
"Ayano did show me one-"
"-Let's go, then!"
After a treacherous journey through a large air vent, the siblings threw themselves out of the giant hole Ayano and her siblings made when they were kids. It lead to a back room on the side of the castle, where three kids lay on enormous couches. It was an extravagant room, but papers scattered along with paint and crayons all over the walls gave the King good reason to hide this room.
Shintaro gave a curt nod to the teens, and they nodded back, for they knew time was of the essence. There was a wedding rehearsal, and more importantly, there was an unnatural air over the castle.
As they left the room and found the main hallway, Momo's scream stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Momo, what is it?!"
"Big brother, look- look, this has to be a joke-!"
"What-" as he turned to face her, his brain registered at an abnormally slow pace that there was a dead body on the ground. "Momo, there should be a group of guards in the next room. Get them. If anything happens, scream."
"Right...! I- I'll kick their balls off...!" Momo was very pale, but Shintaro knew he could trust her with the small task. With that being said, he kneeled in front of the body. No pulse. But the body looked as if this happened recently. Maybe fifteen minutes to a half hour ago...
The body - a woman, he noted after pushing back the dark hair - was bruised, sign of a struggle, and her hair was a bit wavy. A chunk of hair lay tangled in it, and Shintaro wanted to brush it out, make her look neat, but he knew not to mess with a crime scene.
Was this... a crime scene?
Then he heard the guards come back, a few pulling him away, some others carrying the body off. Some guards gasped, horror on their faces.
Perhaps they knew her, Shintaro inferred, but having experienced loss first-hand, he knew not to ask.
A few minutes passed in respectful silence, Momo gripping Shintaro's hand. He didn't want this to happen.
Doors slamming open broke the silence along with shoes swiftly tapping across the floor. "Who was responsible for this?! Whose negligence allowed this to happen?!" It was the King. His voice reverberated across the walls, dripping with emotion. As he approached the guards, Shintaro noticed some ash dusting his body, and red bags under the King's eyes. What the hell?
"I want all of you on your positions immediately before you face an even worse punishment at noon!"
"Yes, sir!" They replied, breaking off to their separate locations.
It didn't take long for Momo to grab the King by his hands, tears streaming down her face. She was truly a kind-hearted young woman. "My sincerest condolences, your Highness...!"
"I respect your behavior in this stressful time, however, I'm afraid… that's the least of the news." The King started, and glanced at Shintaro. "Come here, Mr. Kisaragi."
He approached with restrained haste, heart thumping in a way he didn't know it could.
"This morning... actually, I've been... there since I awoke, until I was summoned here... it seems, in my dear daughter's room... someone was experimenting with alchemy or magic... and there was a huge explosion, destroying her room, and parts of the hall."
The hall was so silent, you could hear a pin drop.
"Your Highness," Momo spoke with quiet elegance for her brother, "is Ayano okay?"
"She... appeared to be there at the incident. Her body couldn't be found. I... wish I was there instead. This damned castle is too large, and none of my damned guards were able to stop it soon enough!" He stomped his foot hard, creating a loud echo. Shintaro stood there, limp.
Momo looked to him, and he ran.
/
The King was right. A huge explosion, fire had spread, ash everywhere…
"Ayano," Shintaro whispered, "Ayano, where are you hiding?"
He searched under the remains of the bed, into the exposed structure, everything that still remained. He didn't believe it. She wasn't dead, she was marrying him in two days, they were going to be happy…
His hand found its way to a burnt up object, though a few bits remained. Red… a red ribbon, it looked like. Shintaro gripped his hand around it, tears falling down his face.
"Ayano, don't leave me... Ayano... Ayano, please, say something..."
As if simple words could make her come back.
Shintaro was a selfish fool.
