AUTHOR'S NOTE: I decided to change this story as rated M, for you will notice a few 'mature' slangs here and there. So if you're a reader who is interested in this story, and who is younger of age, you have been warned now. This is my first rated M fic, so please don't flame me. I won't make these kinds of stories all the time though, I just wanted to try something different for a change. Anyway, on with ch.3, and don't forget to review afterwards ^ . ^
Midori pushed the covers away and wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to calm herself. Her iPhone lied on the sheets next to her, its screen back to its normal background. She slowly picked it up and bit her lower lip. Surely Midori's nerves were getting the best of her now, all because of that mysterious website. She still couldn't get over the phone screen glowing red just now, along with that eerie message. After adjusting her hands from shaking a little, she placed the phone on the lamp desk and looked back at her laptop at the other side of the room.
Midori's uneasiness continued rumbling in the pit of her stomach while thinking back on all she'd done so far. Her mind told her that typing in Ryuji's name wasn't a bad idea completely, whereas her subconscious said otherwise. Just what exactly did that message meant on her phone? Did her request gone through successfully after all? As much as Midori wanted to believe it, she knew she wouldn't get away with this so easily. There was definitely more to it. Midori bit her lower lip again; what if this website was a part of some top secret organization? What if they did receive the message and they thought of it as some kind of scandal? If that was the case, someone would be coming after her for questioning. Suffering abuse from Ryuji was one thing, but being arrested by the government would top everything else for her miserable life.
She opened her laptop, checking to see if the screen also glowed or did anything else. To her relieve, it remained black from being turned off. She placed her hand against her forehead, chuckling. "Really girl….All this voodoo shit is getting over your head already", she said to herself and sighed. She looked up at the clock. "It's almost 12:30. I gotta get some sleep". Midori returned to bed and pulled the covers to her upper body. She turned off her lamp and concentrated on going back to sleep.
A cool breeze brought a chill that woke Midori later that night. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she sat up and found that her window was left open. "Weird…I closed the window even before logging into that website…", she said. She walked over to the window and closed it again. But when she turned around, she gasped in utter shock and slight fear while facing a mysterious girl right in front of her.
The girl was young and eerily beautiful, possibly around Midori's age or a little younger. She had long, flowing hair that was as black as the midnight sky. Her pale skin could easily be compared to a delicate porcelain doll. And her outfit was that of a school girl uniform; she wore a short navy blue skirt, black knee-high stockings, brown shoes, the navy blue blouse that matched her skirt, and tied in the center was a red sailor ribbon. But it was those captivating, yet frightening crimson eyes that brought Midori's attention the most. The girl's crimson orbs glowed radiantly in the darkness of the room while staring back at Midori calmly. She held an emotionless expression, with her soft pink lips forming a straight line and not showing any trace of some humor or emotion.
Midori held her breath for a moment, deciding whether to scream or talk to the scary visitor. Judging by her collected attitude, she figured that the girl didn't come to harm her in any way—even if it had something to do with the website, which she prayed that wasn't the case. Midori took another deep breath and stepped closer, trying to keep her own composure. "Who—who are you?", she asked nervously.
"You summoned me", the girl replied in a soft, whispering tone. Her crimson eyes remained calm while staring at Midori, never moving from where she stood.
Midori raised an eyebrow over what she said. "I…summoned you?", she repeated confusedly. "What do you mean?".
"My name is Ai", the girl stated. "I have received your message". Midori stiffened a little, remembering a certain name that Yaya once mentioned when explaining about the website.
"Wait a minute…you're Hell Girl, right?", she asked stunned. She truly couldn't believe how right the legends and her friend were after all. "So, you really do exist". Ai stayed silent for a moment until she pulled out something from her skirt pocket that seemed like a black straw voodoo doll with a red thread tied around the neck. She held it out to Midori.
"This is for you", she said tonelessly. Midori examined the voodoo doll questionably as she took it from Ai.
"Tell me…why did you visit the site?". Midori looked up at Ai, a bit off guard once she asked the question. "Are you being tortured by someone? Is there someone that you hate so much with a passion… that you would desire revenge?". Midori paused for a moment, amazed on how well she predicted her feelings towards Ryuji. Another realization occurred to her when Yaya explained about the site.
She bent her head down a little and gave a nod. "Yes…I suppose you can say that", she said quietly. "I…I want to be avenged".
Ai pointed at the black voodoo doll placed in Midori's hand. "If you truly desire revenge, all you have to do is pull the red thread from the doll's neck", she explained. "By doing that, it will bind you into a covenant with me. I will punish your tormentors and drag them straight into the depths of hell". Midori looked back at her, surprised. All she had to do was…pull the thread out? Was it really that simple? She looked back at the doll in her one hand, raising the other towards the thin string with her index fingers. 'If what this girl says is true…she would really take Uncle Ryuji to hell? I would finally be free?', she thought. Her thumb and finger were close to pulling the string out, a small rush of anticipation boiling in her veins. Perhaps her wish was starting to come true after all. 'Revenge….'. The word repeated in her head.
"However…", Ai spoke up, catching Midori's attention again. "Once vengeance has been served, it will then be your turn to pay your end of the bargain". Midori started feeling nervous again. She didn't like the sound of that.
"My-my end?", she stuttered.
"There always has to be a price. And so when you die—your soul will also belong to hell", Ai replied. With that last statement, Midori's eyes never grew any wider with fear and disbelief like before. She didn't noticed how her entire body shook, her heart skipping a beat while breathing unevenly. "W-what…?", Midori's whispered. Ai, still wearing her emotionless expression, nodded. "You will never know the joys of heaven. You will wander in a world of pain, despair, and agony—for all of eternity. That is…when you die of course".
Once Ai spoke those last words, something more horrific caused Midori to highly tremble as she spotted the wall bleeding drops of blood behind the crimson eyed girl. She looked around, finding all the walls in the room bleeding, and the drops pouring down slowly and disgustingly. Suddenly, a splat landed on her soft brown hair, causing her to look up and see that even her ceiling was dripping blood. Panicking, she looked back at where Ai stood, who now vanished. Midori's orbs started shaking inside the sockets themselves. This was nothing but a nightmare that she had to wake up from. "Ai! Hell Girl!", Midori shouted and looked around.
She glanced at her bed and gasped. The entire blankets were covered with slimy slithering small snakes, forming a disgusting orgy. Having her hand against her mouth, Midori started backing up towards the window, thinking of the alternative to jump out and scream for help. Before she could turn her heel, something grabbed her by the ankle. She glanced down and saw her entire floor transformed into a pool of blood. A bloodied gremlin-like monster somehow erupted from the pool, flashing its revolting bloodied sharp teeth. Its other clawed hand grabbed Midori's other leg, causing her to not move. Suddenly, a whole swarm of those monsters rose from the pool, their arms outstretching and grabbing every part of her body. Midori knew she was going to die. She was on the brink of insanity from fright. "NO! NOOOOOOOOOO! SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!", she screamed, feeling herself being dragged into the bloody pool with the legion of demons. She gave another shrill. "AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Midori fell to her knees, huffing wildly after she opened her eyes and shook her head. She looked around and found her entire room completely back to normal. She then looked at where she last remembered Ai standing, seeing nothing but her door. She shakily stood up and looked around some more. "D-did all of that…really h-happen?", she asked herself, her voice shaky and her breathing unsteady. Finally realizing there was something in her hand, she looked down and saw that she was still holding the same black voodoo doll with the red thread. Midori stared at it for a few moments, her eyes still shaking. "All of this did happened", she whispered. "S-so all of this was real…".
Suddenly, her bedroom door swung open savagely, causing her to jump off her feet and immediately hiding the doll behind her back. She stared at the drunken man breathing angrily at her. Ryuji stepped in the room, his one hand holding his favorite sake bottle and walked towards Midori, snarling. "Just what the fuck has gotten into you!", he shouted. "Screaming at this time of night like a fucking psycho bitch!". This time, Midori didn't care about the terrible insult Ryuji just named her. She was still trying to adjust back to reality as it is. But she knew better to make an excuse than tell him the truth.
"Uncle Ryuji, I know I shouldn't be screaming like this, but I thought I saw someone at my window and I—". She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as an unexpected punch across the face silenced her, sending her back on the floor. Midori's eyes grew wide with shock while feeling the pain from the blow kicking in. She looked back up at Ryuji, growing more frightened. This was something new. She had been through other kinds of mistreatment, but never had he ever punched her before. She started sensing that tonight was going to be a different night with him. It had to be his adrenaline rising from the heavy drinking.
And she was right.
Feeling more enraged and intoxicated, Ryuji gave Midori by the tip of her fragile hair and made her sat up from the floor. He kneeled down and glared into her frightened emerald eyes, forcing her to stare into his cold-hearted black eyes. He then placed the sake bottle on the floor next to him, only to pull out his dark brown belt from his pants and folded it once. Midori's eyes grew wider. "Hah. So you like screaming out of pain, huh? Well then, my sweet little Midori, Uncle Ryuji will gave ya something to scream about with pain!". Ryuji turned the helpless girl's body on her stomach and lifted up her night shirt to reveal the smooth flesh of her back. Unfortunately, her clear smooth back were now filled with bleeding and stinging scars, making an ugly display. Midori, however, kept her tears at bay, embracing the pain so she could save the last remaining dignity she had left in her. Although after seeing the things she saw in one night, her line of sanity might start thinning out a little more.
After whipping Midori's back a few more times, Ryuji finally grew exhausted and stopped, his heavy breathing from the alcohol making his lungs burn from all the hype. He grabbed his sake bottle and slowly stood up, adjusting his balance. He gave another yawn and headed towards the doorway. "That'll teach ya to close that damn mouth of yours, you stupid little crazy bitch", Ryuji snapped spitefully. "Despicable". He finally left the room and closed his bedroom door. Midori remained where she was, lying on the floor with a stinging and newly disgusting back. She remained there for a while, the tears never falling as she was now in deep thought. She suddenly realized a black object on the floor in front of her. She immediately picked up the black voodoo doll, surprised and relieved that Ryuji was too drunk to realize it was there. She glared at the doll with a new determination; she knew what she had to do. This wasn't a mistake after all.
The raven haired girl stood on top of the roof of the house, the full hypnotic moon shining down at her eerie presense. Her crimson eyes glowed with the moonlight. Without a doubt, she heard the horrific sounds of Midori's abuse. Therefore, she knew that Midori will change her mind sooner or later. She then turned around and vanished away in the wind. "And now…the decision rest with you…", Ai echoed in the night, letting Midori hear those last haunting words in the room.