Meiko dreamt of becoming the strongest fighter in the land.
As a child, she wanted to be the one to eventually protect each of her friends from the fearsome world outside. She was never interested in the trivialities of daily life; she wanted adventure, precious journeys with the family she'd chosen to cherish. She desired the wind in her hair, the rush of adrenaline during battle, the sweet taste of a victory.
None of that was what she found on her one and only journey, to aid her friend to become the Messiah. She discovered only the bitter sting of despair, and the feeling of time ticking away with each step they took.
The day the letter came for Miku, she felt a black hole empty her heart. Her, that silly girl, the Messiah? Meiko had spent years with her, watched her mature from the tattered and sad wretch she was to the independent, cheerful woman she wanted to be.
That day, Meiko lost hope in those she had so fervently prayed to in the past.
She had gone home to pack the necessities, and broken things in her rage. She didn't want Miku to be the savior. She wanted it to be someone, anyone else, as long as it wasn't one of her friends.
She'd heard, long ago when she had yet to meet Kaito and the others, that to be chosen was considered the greatest honor. To be given the task of restoring the world, erasing the pain and suffering in exchange for a small period of peace, was a privilege.
Now that she's old enough to understand what it fully entails, she knows it's nothing nearly so glorious. That in the end, it will bring horrible things to the 'savior' who simply wants serenity within the world.
It became a silent agreement between the band of nine to protect Miku. Even if that meant sacrificing themselves one by one to save her, to undertake the pain for her. It was a solemn promise, but solid. The each trusted one another not to back out, and in return they stayed together. With the thought of death being so near, their bonds grew stronger.
She wanted to chase her dreams, and see her friends live out theirs; but fate threw a wrench in what was a happy life, and suddenly the short future they had planned out was cut away.
She was selfish enough to hope that somehow, some other poor soul would be sentenced to the savior's destiny, but knew that would never happen. It was a fool's wish in the end.
Meiko attempted to distance herself from them all after that. She became standoffish, and unable to meet their eyes. It was too difficult to see them when she knew that in no time, they would all perish. That she, too, would die.
This was never something she desired, and she wanted to tell Miku the truth- but Kaito warned her away from it. She had seen his concerned face flickering in the firelight, and realized that even if she told Miku, it would amount to nothing.
It was painful to admit she was scared.
Kaito was the first to throw his life to the wind. In the tower she had stood by, helpless to stop him as he tossed their friend aside and was locked away in the room with the first blessing, never to escape. It was then that the realization dawned on her that they really weren't going to leave. This really meant the end.
It nearly made her heart stop, realizing that each person in this room would be dead in a matter of moments.
She wanted to pry open the doors, yank Kaito out of there before he was taken from her- but there was no way for her to do it. There was nothing left to do but continue.
The loss of the bluenet hit them all hard in the first few minutes, especially Miku. She couldn't seem to process what had happened, and a tear streamed down her cheek until she wiped it away, turning to urge them on to the next blessing.
None of them missed that her smile was gone, or the newly guarded look in her eyes. It was written in her body language, and each of them knew she was judging, unsure if they were the same. The laughter they had shared just hours before was just memories, left further behind with each step forward.
Meiko felt the aching pain of the future draw her in, and knew that she would have to face the fear that threatened to swallow her.
The next blessing was scarlet red, flickering with a flame emblem in its center. Miku started for it, but stopped in her tracks when Meiko swung her sword inches from her throat before the entrance, stilling all movement. The instantaneous recognizing expression and the tensing of the younger girl's muscles warned the brunette that she had become a traitor just like that. The trust vanished, and horror etched itself in the girl's expression.
"M-Meiko, why-?" the tealette requested, her eyes turning watery, and Meiko couldn't face it. Sidestepping away to stand before the glyph, the tip of her blade facing the girl, she grimaced, her gaze flickering just once to those she was about to leave behind. Then emotion vacated her expression, and she glowered down at the savior with disgust, as if she'd always hated her.
(She hoped that Miku would forgive her.)
"Because I won't let you keep the blessings all for yourself."
Slam. The doors clattered to a close, solid and dark, sealing another's fate just as easily as the first's.
Immediately the sword dropped from Meiko's hand. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she fought with herself, knowing that the betrayal stained her friend's heart. She could hear nothing more of her friends' voices, though she wished just once more to hear them speak, or laugh, or to at least see their smiles.
Will she be cursed with the image of their grave expressions for eternity? Is that all that's left for her to remember?
Her fingers grazed the glyph quickly, hastened by her regret, and it shined brighter. She didn't want to hesitate, or allow herself to back down. It was far too late for that.
Kaito… She murmured his name into the silence, the last peaceful thing she was allowed.
The moment the blessing entered her skin, she screamed. Pain like acid spread through her, throbbing up her arm. Before she realized it, the entire room was encased in fire, licking at her clothes and searing through. The hot, unbearable pain was nothing like she imagined, and she could hardly breathe, the agony too intense for words. The smoke was suffocating, and she felt her body turn to ash slowly.
Did Kaito suffer this way…? she wondered absently, biting the inside of her cheek, feeling herself lose balance and drop to the ground, the fire spreading to coat her form, scorching every inch of her available skin. She doesn't want to move- there's no reason too, there's nowhere safer to go.
She is only the second to be sentenced to a fate like this. Will the others be just as cursed? Her tears disappear into the fire, evaporating.
To protect her, at least, this… will have meaning.
If only… they could all be saved from such a cruel destiny.
Everyone…
I'm sorry, she thinks hazily, succumbing to the flames. I wish I could have protected you all.
Please, succeed.
A/N: This is unbeta'd.
And so end's Meiko's piece. This and the next chapter will be a tad short, but for some reason the ones afterwards are a bit longer. I'm hoping I'm making the Yamashizuku fans proud- or at least, not disappointing anyone, hahaha.
Written listening to 'Blessed Messiah and The Tower of AI', and Collar X Malice's 'BGM 1. Premonition'
See you in the next update. I was trying to hold off on this one, but I'm not that patient.
Read on~!
~Disclaimer~ I own only a will to fight and a fear of going up in smoke, nothing more.