Ok, here is next. I hope this story is not boring.
Thanks for reviews/faves/comment and follows.
Thanks to crimson for edits!
Sigh…
I wish I could tell her how I actually feel…
Really, it's so annoying that instead of telling the truth, I keep pointlessly yelling at her. I bet she must be thinking badly about me.
I'll never be able to go home through the same way….
I don't want to meet her right now…
It's too embarrassing….
Hopefully, I can get my ass back home somehow and have fun with my siblings. No more traveling to try and catching up with something I can't even reach…
Sigh…
Maki….
Maki Nishikino….
She is a rich girl and I'm a Yakuza…which probably is close to disbanding due to the lack of money. I know my mother… even though she probably will try her best; I'm guessing that she might also try to get out of this career. Not that I'm going to complain…but….
I feel bad to end what my father has always been passionate about.
Now that I think about it though, maybe all that I said to Rin before was a form of protest towards my own life? I mean…seriously….I don't even know what's going on in the Hoshizora clan, but she just confirmed everything and now I kind of feel bad saying all of that.
…and I know Maki is probably angry at me by now…because I'm so mean…
But I was jealous so it wasn't my fault…
Or maybe it is my fault to have this strange feeling and unable to tell the truth to her.
Sigh.
I guess… this is why people always say…. it's easy to make an enemy, but it's not easy to make a friend.
This is really hopeless of me…
I know I shouldn't be like that and keep striving for it….
Hmm…
What am I thinking?!
Why am I being so down?
I should've just kept trying!
So Maki might be angry at me now, but I should just keep trying again and again, right? Maybe I should make up with Rin first. Where is she though?
So I tried to back track to where I last time met Rin.
Then, I tried to go to where Rin ran away. It's easier to find her because the ground is somewhat wet— thanks to the lush rice field, now it's a lot easier to find her footprint, I can't imagine if I had to find her in a dry land.
Come to think of it,
This place is now belongs to Maki… somehow…. I wish Nozomi could do something like this for me… but she is more likely to do whatever she wants. I can't even get a hold of her… she is just too wild.
Put that aside…
I wonder how Maki will take care of this place that she got with just one sentence.
Man….
Wish makers surely are magical…
I wish Nozomi would obey me….
And I wish I never used 'soul' as a payment. I could've used something else… but…. I have nothing to offer…I'm not like Maki….
Sheesh, I'm back thinking about that again.
Now I wish that I never met that damned merchant. I could've lived better than now…
This is all that merchant's fault. What does she want from me anyway… why did she offer such a thing?
What makes me so special until she wants to offer me that?
I mean…I don't believe I actually paid her with anything…
All I did was make that idiot Wish maker…
Sigh…
Why does—
Ouch….
What the heck…..?
Where the hell am I?
Why do I feel like I just fell into a trap hole?
Who the fuck made a trap here?
Sigh, anyway, I'm glad it's nothing bad… the hole is not that deep…
I probably can jump out….
Or maybe not…..
I'm too short…
Damn it.
Why am I born short?!
Why?!
Sigh!
How do I get out of this now?!
Maybe I can….
"Heeeeeeelppp!" I shouted.
No answer…
Sigh!
Of course there's no answer!
This is a lush rice field without workers!
God-damn it!
How do I get outta here?! I think I'm going to cry because I don't know what to do! I'm so short, I can't reach anything and I don't even have anything with me right now! Where the hell is Nozomi!? Where the hell is Eli?!
I wish those two would save me!
Or maybe… Maki can do that too….
But…
Ahh… it's Impossible, why would she bother to find me anyway?! It's not like she has anything to do with me, she's probably disappointed and went back home…
Arghhhh! What should I do?!
I must not die—
Uh…
I can hear a buzzing sound….
Somewhere near—AAAAAAAAAAHHH!
Bugs!
THESE SCARY BUGS ARE AROUND ME!
Worms too
AAAHHHH!
"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" I yelled as loud as I could.
Still no response…
"HEEELLPP!" I yelled again and again.
Yet those bugs keep crawling! Those legs are disgusting! EWWWW! Those hairy legs really creep me out! Someone please help! I can't jump up! I can't get out of this place! I can't—….
Urgh….
I can see the sky starting to grow dim.
This is…horrible….
No one is answering me…
I'm no one here without anyone….
Without my men to help me….
Without my father who has always protected me….
Why do I go out of that place without them?
This is stupid… Extremely stupid. I regret a lot of things already….
Sigh…
I could've stayed safe at home…. I know this is my fault to trust Nozomi to protect me… alas, how could my men never complain about this? Do they care about me? Or maybe they are too busy working for my mama?
Sigh….
I sigh again and again…
That's all I can do here… those bugs are still crawling around but I suppose I don't even care anymore.
Sometimes I wish that this hole would get flooded so I could swim up... but the ground absorbs it instead…
Well… this is a rice field after all… and look at those trees around this place… there won't be any flood here unless the river somehow gets flooded which is also somewhat impossible.
Then…I'm stuck here?
Wait….
What am I thinking?! Why am I giving up already?! I have to try something. I really have to do something!
Maybe I can try to climb up?
Well…looking here I could see some tree roots, I know there are some trees around here, hn..i wish I could just throw something and hold against them, but I suppose since I just need to get out of this place anyway…. I have to do this manually!
I carefully try to climb up the grounds walls, holding myself on the tree roots that showed up from it. It's pretty hard since I'm not good at things like this, even though I might be, if there was something chasing me, I'm an escape artist after all!
Ohh! Maybe I can pretend those bugs are chasing me…
Alright…
I have to imagine it….
I'm imagining….
Those bugs….turning big….and… they're trying to eat me….
Big-Bugs-Big-Bugs-Big-Bugs….
EWWW!
For some reason, I gained a power that allowed me to climb all the way up the wall, then I tried to jump up to the ground and—
W-W-Whoa-Whoa! What the heck?!
M-Maki!?
W-what is she doing here?!
W-Wh-wait! What am I doing?!
I'm falling in the hole again!
I might die this time!
Or….
Maybe not….
Maki….
Just….
Caught me….
Oh my god…
SHE CAUGHT ME.
THEN SHE CARRIED ME AWAY FROM THE HOLE.
SHE IS STRONG.
WHERE THE HELL DID SHE GET THAT STRENGTH FROM?!
WHY AM I SO EXCITED?!
I THINK MY FACE IS BURNING LIKE ROASTED MEAT!
That's not just it…
She also keeps staring at me with her beautiful eyes…
Her face is blushing slightly…
At the same time she seems to be annoyed…
But then….
Then…..
She…
SHE KISSED ME!
OH MY GOD!
WHAT THE HELL!?
WHY IS SHE KISSING ME ALL OF A SUDDEN?!
WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!
It's not that I'm complaining…
It's good…
Her lips are so smooth even though she just pressed her lips on mine…
BUT STILL!
WHAT THE HELL!?
I COULD SWEAR ALL DAY!
Then…
Then when her lips parted from mine…
She averted her eyes from me…
"There…. That's what you wanted, right?" she said.
Wh-what the ….heck…..? How did she know that is what I want?
"Now… you have to do what you promised…. " she continued.
"What the fuck you're talking about though?" I asked.
Then she turn her eyes at me again and now with a frown,
"Don't act stupid! You promised to find something else in you so you can pay your wish to Nozomi!" she yelled,
"Huh?! I never promised that!" I replied,
"You promised it just two minutes ago! Don't you dare pretend that you don't know!" she yelled back at me again.
"What the Hell?! Hellooooo! I was in that stupid hole! I couldn't possibly promise you anything two minutes ago!" I replied loudly.
"Liar!" she yelled as the blush on her face began to get redder.
"I do not lie! Damn you! I really was in that stupid hole al by myself! Unless you met someone else that can—….." I paused for a moment….
I was about to say…
Someone who could turn into me and act like it was me…..
And I kept looking around until I saw someone…obviously peeking at us….
Nozomi…
Sigh…. I wonder if she ever planned to hide or something, but I think she is too obvious…. A single piece of leaf won't hide her whole body….
Maki and I turned to her….
"Nozomi…. what did you do to Maki?" I asked,
"Don't ask me… I'm just a cute Tanuki who is hiding behind a leaf…." She replied playfully.
"Nozomi….. Did you just….trick me to do all that?" Maki asked—with a smirk on her face.
"Do what, Maki-chan…? You have to be more specific…."
"Like… Everything!" She yelled.
"I don't get it!" Nozomi mimic Maki's accent.
"You!" Maki quickly pick up a pebble, and then she threw it accurately on Nozomi's forehead.
"Ah—!" Nozomi moaned,
Then her face started to blush…and her eyes teary…..
Sheesh…. Is she going to cry now?
"Maki-chan…. you're so mean….." Nozomi said with her voice starting to sound like a cry.
"You're mean too! You tricked me to do all that?! Do you think it's a game, huh?!"
"But….But….I really don't get it…." she started to cry—and at the same time mimicking Maki's accent as if she is mocking her….
"Stop mocking me!" Maki yelled.
"W-waaaa! Nikocchi! Protect meeee! Maki-chan is angry at meee!" Nozomi cried.
No one is going to be fooled by that….
Her face though, it looks so….
Urgh…I hate how cute she looks …
I started to feel pity…but….
"You're a jerk… I'm not helping you…." I said.
"Waaaaa! Nikocchi is cruel to me too!" she cried again.
"Hey… you were the one who messed up!" Maki scolded her again.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Ericchiiiiiiiiiii!" She cried louder.
"That won't help you, you know… I bet Eli will side on us about this, you were the one who—…."
And before Maki could finish…we both see Eli appeared next to Nozomi….
"What's wrong, honey?" Eli asked.
"Ericchi! Nikocchi and Maki-chan teamed up to harm me! They just hurt me on my forehead!" Nozomi said with her crying face…
"Oh…. honey, what made them do that?" Eli asked gently,
"It was because Nikocchi told Maki-chan to do that and Maki-chan agreed!"
What a shit head…
No one is going to believe you if you say things like that…
"Oh… and why are you trying to harm my wife?!" Eli turned to us with her eyes giving out a deadly glare.
"O-Oi! Eli! Don't just believe that! There is a history!" Maki said.
"Nikocchi is trying to get rid of me because she owes me 150 souls…"
W-wait! What?! 150?! When did I ask her for wishes?!
"Huh?! It's nothing like that…!" Maki tried to retort… but…
I think Eli believes Nozomi more than us….
She just…keeps staring at us with her scary face…
Then…she just…eventually….turning into….
Uh…
What….
The….
Hell…..
SHE IS TURNING INTO A GIANT NINE TAILED FOX
OH MY GOD!
RUN!
Phew,
That was crazy. I'm glad we met Umi on our way. That samurai must be scarier than those two. She chased the two off for us—or at least make them forget about their purpose for chasing us. Anyway though, Maki brought me to her home, she said, I need to dry my clothing and all. We also met Hanayo and Rin on the way…
I apologized to her and she just forgave me in a blink of an eye. I guess she is actually an ok person. I wonder why I blurted out that time, can't believe I said all that to a person like her.
Maki also invited us to take a bath together in the hot spring … I know this is not something strange here as we are all female…. But…
"Oi….Maki…. are you going to let Eli join too?" I asked,
"Huh? Well… she can join if she wants to. It's not like she will do anything to us…. She already forgave us about Nozomi…. and Nozomi also seems to have forgotten about the incident already…"
"Uh…it's not about that…." I said.
"Then what is it about?" Maki asked.
"Did you forget…. About her…. you know…. spear…." I tried to hint about it with giving emphasis as I said 'spear'.
"You won't get pregnant from looking at it…" Maki said.
"Huh!? It's not about that, you idiot! Aren't we all going to be in the same water?!" I said.
"Well, yes? Again, you won't get pregnant from that…and I don't think Eli is interested in you…judging from her tastes at least…"
"What the hell?! It's not about the either, you moron! I mean, Helllooooo! Eli has that spear so we can count her as a guy!" I said.
"She has boobs too and it's not fair if I put her in the male bath! What if my dad goes in there?! My mom might have the wrong idea!" Maki yelled back at me,
Alright, she's got a point there.
"We just need to stay as far as we could… besides, Nozomi is here too and she won't do anything for now… I could call Umi and Kotori as well if you want to!" she continued again.
"Then, go on, call those two as well just so they can keep us safe!" I said loudly.
"Fine! You just need to tell me that from the very beginning!" she said.
"That was your fault to not understand my intention! Sheesh!" I said back to her.
So I finally got in to the water,
Nozomi and Eli aren't here… not yet at least.
Maki, Rin, Hanayo, Kotori, and Umi are here… At first I thought they will be just fine….but….
Umi is sitting so faaaaaaar away from us.
I didn't know she was actually that shy…
"Umi-chan!" Kotori called her pleadingly.
"Y-y-yes, Kotori?" she replied nervously without even looking at us.
"Come here.. Why are you so far away?" Kotori asked.
"I…I have to keep my eyes on everyone, by staying far away, I'll be able to watch everyone…" Umi replied nervously.
"But you're not even looking at us…." Kotori said.
"T-the reflection is enough! B-Besides…. This is the closest to the door…." Umi said.
"Mmm….. Then… everyone…. Let's play near the door…." Kotori said.
"W-waaah!" Umi quickly moved away to where Maki is.
Maki is also not so close to us, looks like she prefers to stay near the corner so she can read a book and drink something pink-ish red… I wonder what that is…
Heh, at least she is not as far away as before…and I know Maki has been peeking at us behind that book of hers…
"Umi-chan…. you don't want to be close to us, right?" Kotori said sadly.
"N-No-no! That's not it…. uh….." Umi grabs Maki's back and she hid behind her.
"Hey, what do you think I am? A Wall?" Maki said.
"You do look like one if you're just going to stay there and not communicate to us…" I said.
"H-huh?! Well! We don't need to stay so close to each other right? And… you just need to bring up an interesting topic to talk about…" she said.
Well…I don't have any…
"Why don't you bring up an interesting topic huh? Not creative enough?" I said a little mockingly at her,
"W-what? No way! I can come up with a creative topic!" She replied.
Heh..that was an easy way to hook her up in a conversation…
"Then start it!" I said.
"Fine then, let's talk about—…."
Just before Maki could finish her word….
"—Love…." Nozomi suddenly came into the room.
Sigh. I bet this woman is totally going to ruin everything …and…that Ayase Eli…. I'm glad she is wearing a towel to cover her lower part. Everyone in the room seems to be quiet as she enters—and they keep their eyes on her lower part anyway….
"So… how is everyone today? I bet you all had a fun day!" Nozomi said as she enters the water.
"We had fun-nya! It was the first time I see rice field that grow as great as that-nya!" Rin said cheerfully.
"Hehe… I have heard about that rice field, I'll take care of it for sure…" Kotori said.
"Heh—I was about to worry about the daily care, but I suppose if you want to take care of that…." Maki said.
"Yup, I'll make sure my workers get to work on them every day!" Kotori said cheerfully.
"And because Maki-chan is generous, Rin-chan gets to take a part of the rice everyday too…" Nozomi said.
"H-Huh!? I never said that…!" Maki retorted,
"Does that mean, Maki-chan won't let me-nya?" Rin asked sadly,
"N-No…Not that… it just…well… I never said that before!" Maki said.
"But you will in three seconds…" Nozomi said.
"W-Well! Yes, Rin-chan can take a part of it but not all!" Maki said.
"And…why not all? I mean, you're rich enough…" I said.
"She can sell the other part to the marketplace in a cheaper price, to make a better balance in the market…" Eli said.
"Yup, Maki-chan is aware of the unbalanced love…" Nozomi added with emphasis on 'unbalanced love'. Kotori and Hanayo seems to be taking a lot of attention to that specific word, I wonder what they are thinking…?
"What's wrong, you two?" I asked to Kotori and Hanayo.
"Uh…i…it's nothing…" Kotori said.
"Somehow…when Nozomi said that, I feel like we're missing something…but I'm not sure…" Hanayo said.
Nozomi chuckled to them,
"Anyway…. Because the market is unbalanced, Ericchi decided to give the ownership to Maki-chan so she can take control of it too. Also… the reason why Rin-chan is not the one to get it will be explained once Hanayo-chan tells us about the Hoshizora family…" she said.
"E-Eh? W-Why me?" Hanayo asked.
"Because you will in a minute…" Nozomi replied.
Hanayo was quiet for a moment; she kept looking at Rin for a while and then sighed weakly,
"Well then… if you allow me to explain…" she started,
"The Hoshizora clan has been ruined a long time ago, but for the sake of their pride… they pretend like nothing happened in it…."
"Hey… are you sure you are going to tell me that?" I cut in.
"O…Oh! Right! You are part of the Yazawa-clan! Uhh…Why have I never thought of that?" Hanayo replied.
"Don't worry, Nikocchi owes us a story too, but since I'm kind… I'll be the one to tell it after your story, Hanayo-chan…" Nozomi said.
"The hell?! You're not kind! Besides, what do you know about us, huh?!"
"I know your entire story, from the most detailed events until the biggest part of your story. Never doubt my knowledge…" she said proudly.
"tch! Fine, let's prove that!" I said,
"Yeah, just shut up and let her tell the story…." Maki said.
Urghhgghh…Maki-chan wants to hear her story!
"Yup, please continue, Hanayo-chan…" Nozomi said.
"Can I just tell it my own-nya?" Rin asked.
Nozomi seems to be slightly surprised,
"E-Eh? Sure?" Hanayo replied.
"Hehe, thank you-nya!" Rin replied cheerfully.
Then she turns her sight to us before she took a deep breath and released it as if she was trying to compose herself.
"There's nothing left in my family-nya. The Hoshizora-clan is now only living from the crimes around the street. We lost contact with our allies and we couldn't even keep our members. Each of them were going missing one by one until one day we realized that they were all dying from a disease. At first, we all thought that they were just pretending to die from the disease and gone off somewhere else…. But… that wasn't the case…." Rin explained.
Everyone remained quiet; they seem to be intrigued with her story.
"…they really were dying along with some of the villagers, and then went missing without a trace... it was only the time when Maki-chan's family showed up, that everyone stopped going missing, and that is also the time when I got Kayo-chin-nya…and also the time when I decide to not continue the Yakuza line" Rin continued again.
Huh? So her reason was simply because she don't want to continue the Yakuza line? Weird... uh, which one is the reason why Eli didn't give the rice field to Rin? I don't get it...
"So you got Hanayo around the time when I got here?" Maki asked.
"Probably-nya. I heard about your family just before I decided to make Kayo-chin! Hehe…."
Huh? Does she not wonder what the reason for the not-giving the rice field thing?
"I totally thought you got her longer than us, you seem to know a lot about Wish makers…" Maki said.
"That was because my parents also owned them a while back; it was also kept in a similar ceramic bottle-nya!" Rin said.
"Ceramic…bottle…?" Maki raised her eyebrow.
"Yup-nya! Hehe…can you show them, Kayo-chin?" Rin asked Hanayo.
"Ok!" Hanayo replied before she floats up to pick up a ceramic bottle.
I can totally see Maki to widen her eyes as she looked at the ceramic bottle.
What with that ceramic bottle?
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.
"A-Ah…it's…nothing…." Maki bit her lips.
"Now-now! Since Rin-chan already finished her story! Let's talk about Nikocchi!" Nozomi said.
"The hell?!" I tried to protest.
"Nikocchi is the eldest child, but because she sucks—she looks like she is the youngest one…"
"W-what the heck?!"
"Joking, Nikocchi is a responsible eldest sister, she is taking care of her siblings, but because she sucks, she makes me do the work…"
"Huh?! I never tell you to do that?!"
W-Wait a minute though…. If I'm here and she is here… who is taking care of my siblings now?!
I didn't plan to go this long!
"Don't worry Nikocchi, I already made a decoy for you so you can go around like there's nothing to care about… I'm awesome like that…" she said.
Really? I don't believe her….
I wish there's a way for me to contact home without having to go here and there from time to time…
"Ohh! Now that you made me think about it, Nikocchi…" Nozomi suddenly said,
"What? I didn't say anything!" I said clearly.
"Your wish just now synchronized with everyone's wish at the moment!" Nozomi said.
"H-Huh?! Everyone's wish?! Did you just read my mind or something!?" Maki protested.
"Y-yeah nya?! D-Did you just read my mind too?!" Rin asked.
"W-wait a minute, Nozomi… I know this is different than what we saw, but… that doesn't mean you can take a different step too!" Eli tried to protest too.
"We have to try, Ericchi! We wouldn't want to be stuck in this forever, right?" Nozomi replied.
"Uh…I have no idea about what you're thinking, Nozomi-chan… but… you seems to be so sure about this…so I want to tell you, I hope you know what you are doing…" Kotori said.
"Y-yeah… what she said! I know you're a powerful one and able to make anything come true. So… please don't just act on it…." Umi said.
Nozomi giggled,
"Trust me…. I can work this out!"
"U-Uh…S-S-Someone…please help! I got a baaadd feeling about this!" Hanayo said.
"Nozomi! Listen! It's not that I disagree but—…" and before Eli could finish,
"Shush, Ericchi… we can fix that later if we happen to screw up, right?"
"T-that's true…."
"So don't worry about it, let's give it a shot…"
"Fine…." Eli sighed heavily.
I still don't know what she is thinking though…
"W-wait a minute, what do you want to do, huh?!" I asked loudly,
"Shush Nikocchi, just be quiet and close your eyes, ok? It won't hurt anywhere!"
"W-what?"
"That also goes with everyone, just close your eyes and let me do this!" she said again.
Yeah…huh?
I'm totally not doing—
k, see you next chapter!
