Author: Okay. Chapter Thirteen is finally ready. Sorry it took so long. I'm not very good at keeping up the pace anymore. Heh. Well, please read and review.
Chapter Thirteen
"Satsuki!" Hajime screamed as he turned the corner and noticed the girl's limp body in Rene's arms. The boy glanced up at the noise then set his unconscious victim down on the ground. Hajime's fist flew through the air towards Rene, but he just simply stepped out of the way
"It's not what it seems." He said in the most confident voice anyone there — with the exception of Zoë — had ever heard.
Keiichirou stood there staring at his sister, his eyes as wide as saucers. "So, that's what you meant!" He cried looking up at Rene. "If I didn't obey you, you were going to hurt my sister! And you did!"
Rene didn't even blink, then slowly turned to Zoë who had remained quiet the entire time since arriving. "My cover's up." he said.
She glanced at him. "What?"
"No more pretending."
"I…I don't understand."
"I'm sure that you can picture what happened, Zoë. Think of a black creature with long claws and wings."
The ghost girl's eyes widened. "You mean—."
He nodded his head. "His poison. He was going to kill her, but…my gun can do many tricks."
Zoë threw back her head and burst into laughter at the astonishment of her two companions. She stopped. "You mean besides hurting me?"
"Of course."
Hajime stared at the pair in shock. "Since when did you two get on such good terms with each other?" He asked with astonishment as he knelt down beside Satsuki's still body. "Isn't he a demon? I mean Satsuki did dream about him."
Rene laughed at that. "She didn't dream about me!"
"But, Satsuki said—."
"She was wrong."
"But…she saw you…and…you were pretending to be…me."
Rene laughed again. "No! It wasn't me!"
Hajime's hands clenched into fists. "Would you quit saying that! If it wasn't you, then tell me who it was!"
"The same one who did that!" His finger was aimed at the prone body lying on the cold pavement.
"But you did that!" Keiichirou screeched. "You killed my sister!"
"She's not dead." Rene's voice had taken on a dangerous tone. "She's only in a State of Torment."
"State of…Torment?" Hajime.
The boy's eyes flashed with something that was very close to either joy or fear. "She may possibly die, but only you can save her."
The air was filled with fire. It burned my skin, but gave me not scars. It stung my eyes, but never took away my sight. There was a sound like someone grinding his teeth together. My whole body trembled as someone in the distance screamed out in agony. The first thing that I thought when I had taken a grasp of my feelings enough to actually think was that I had died and…this wasn't heaven.
"HEY!" I yelled.
HEY!
Hey!
Hey!
Hey.
My voice echoed back to me.
I wrapped my arms around myself as suddenly I became bitterly cold. As if I was swimming in icy water. None of it made any sense. Not with the flames billowing up around me.
A tremor overtook Hajime's whole body. "But what am I supposed to do. I'm too weak to save her." He hung his head.
Zoë grabbed his arm and turned him around until he was facing her. "Don't say that." she said. "A weak person can't do what you've done."
"And what have I done?"
"You stayed loyal to Momoko even though you knew that you'd never really be able to love her the way you did with Satsuki. You're something that I'll never be able to be."
The boy turned away from her. "But a strong person doesn't listen to the devil." He turned back to the ghost girl. "It's all my fault that Satsuki's in…that State of…Torment. I sent her away. I told her that she wasn't wanted. I told her that I couldn't love her. I broke her heart, Zoë. I ruined her. And if you think that that's something a wonderful person would do, I think you need a psychiatrist."
"But, Hajime…" Her eyes sparkled. "…only a good person can admit their own mistakes and you've admitted a lot."
Zoë's eyebrows scrunched together in concentration, and she turned around to face Rene. "Hang on a second. I thought that you were working with Shin. Why are you trying to save Satsuki now?"
Emotion swept over his face and everyone seemed to be taken aback, including the ghost girl. Rene turned his head away as if embarrassed about the way he was acting, before speaking. "I can't bare to see it happen to anyone else." He finally looked over at the ghost girl. "Zoë, I've never hated you."
"Then why do you always try to kill me?!" The girl nearly shrieked.
His eyes were misted over with tears, portraying the perfect figure of a lost and helpless boy. "It was a pact I made. I couldn't break it, but I never meant to kill you. Only frighten you, so he would leave you alone."
"What?"
"I never wanted to leave you, Zoë, but Shin made me."
The ghost girl's hands clenched into fists. "No one can make you do anything! You have free will! God made you like this so you could choose to love him. Because what is the point of love if it was forced upon someone?"
"I can't believe that way, Zoë. I just cant'."
"Of course you can! You just don't want to!"
He shook his head in distress. "No. It's too late for me now. I've sold my sold to the devil. And there's no getting it back."
"Rene—."
"I can't save myself now. Only you." He looked down into Zoë's eyes. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and look how I've treated you. I've hurt you so much. Physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I've seen the way you just stare into space. I've seen you cry bitter tears at night. And I've seen you falling away from your almighty God."
Her eyes were directed at the ground as she spoke. "I've asked for forgiveness so many times, but…" She looked back up at Rene. "…I've never really meant it because all I could think about was my love for you. I couldn't even remember how God showed his love. I was blind! But I can see it all now and Rene…" She grabbed his hand. "…I want you to see it also. I want you to accept it."
During this conversation Hajime had been deep in though on his predicament. He finally raised his head, his mind made up. "What do I do?"
To be continued…
Author: So? How is it? I hope it's not WAY too confusing.