Sorry for the delay again..
But either way, thanks for reviews/comment/faves/follows! I love it!
Then, thanks to Crimson for edits.
Nozomi couldn't be more doubtful in her current situation,
The voice she just heard is surely not someone she expects to ask for help. She believes that the voice belongs to a young little girl—like Hanako, not her friend that she knew so well.
When she approaches the voice—she cleared the fact that her ears and memory are still working perfectly. What she expected is a view of Eli, standing in front of Hanako, who seemed to be extremely scared of the blonde, who somewhat…showed off something else…
Nozomi could see the transparent soul that controlling Eli, it looked like a fox—a giant fox that was almost as big as the blonde. It has fiery nine tails, just like how they described it in myths. Despite the fire, there is a huge cold aura spreading out of her, making the wooden floor beneath her freeze.
"A Kyuubi?" Nozomi whispered to herself,
"W-Waaah! S-So scary!" The Snow Girl said as she hid behind Nozomi.
"N-Nozomi-nee-san! Please help!" Hanako quickly ran to Nozomi and hid behind her.
As flustered as she was, Nozomi tried to get to know what she is facing currently.
First of all,
She is very sure that she is her friend….Ayase Eli…one that she calls Ericchi.
Second,
She is not quite sure about the transparent soul she is looking at… a monster-like creature, with all the characteristics of many myths, but how is that even in her friend right now?
When and where did she get it?
Third,
What she will do now…?
"L-let's run, Nozomi! It's impossible for us to fight her…!" The Snow Girl said,
"Yes! Even my friends can't do anything about her!" Hanako added.
But despite that, Nozomi just knew that she cannot leave her alone, she has to somehow be able to make her return to her senses...
"I can't…. I have to take her back!" Nozomi replied.
"But you can't! You better save yourself!" The Snow Girl said,
"Let's just go first, Yuki-neechan!"
"E-Eh?! Leaving her?!" The Snow Girl asks.
Hanako began to yell out as she keeps pulling the snow girl with her. Unable to resist, the Snow Girl and Hanako escaped first while Nozomi was still left with Eli—who somehow has a beast lingering on her. Is it the work of the demon King? Or was it not?
But how is that even possible to not be the result of his work?
Perhaps she has been tricked after all…
Nozomi doesn't know what to do right now, the beast has been doing nothing until now…but what she supposed to do?
The two stare into each other, still doing absolutely nothing until Nozomi decided to make her move. She takes a step forward, this agitates the beast, making it growl at her.
How defensive!
She thought as she quickly stops moving. But something was interesting about this is…
Despite how strong it might be and how small Nozomi probably looked in front of it, the beast doesn't make any other moves other than growling—it's like, it has no intention to harm if Nozomi isn't going any further than now.
Looking from the body—the physical body, Eli seems to be conscious but Nozomi knows she is not quite conscious, with her blue eyes shining bright and her pale skin looking a lot colder than it normally was.
It's so strange that even though it could've killed Nozomi in one bite, the beast seemed to be steady and defensive. But…to be fair...can it really could do something to Nozomi?
"It's ok… stay calm…." Nozomi said as she was about to move her feet again,
But when the beast noticed the movement, it growls again while taking a few steps back instead of going forward.
Ah…could it be….?
Nozomi said to herself, guessing what kind of feeling it has right now,
"Don't be scared… I'm not trying to harm you…" she said again as she still carefully approaches the beast—and Eli.
Her step is careful but the beast still continues to walk backwards—it shows a very intimidating face and growl, but it doesn't seem to be brave enough to make an offensive move..
"Please…believe me…." Nozomi said gently, her hand trying to reach it,
When Nozomi got somewhat closer, the beast ran along with Eli's body who moved just the same way as how humans run, except, it's too incredibly fast for a normal human being.
"Ah!" Nozomi turned around as she watches the beast and Eli escape the place. Now she had to catch up or perhaps—start playing hide and seek with them. She quickly ran out and began to look around— as expected, Eli is already gone from the area.
With this kind of darkness and with this kind of structure, she doubts she could look around without anyone shining—like, the Snow Girl or Hanako…or perhaps Eli herself with that beast soul on her.
She had to carefully move—using her hand as her only guide into the darkness. Each step will have to be extra carefully placed, unbeknownst to when holes could make her stumble and fall in this kind of place.
Even though she didn't see any insects or anything alive other than her right now, and even though she couldn't see a single soul wander around the hall like how it usually is for a haunted place, Nozomi could feel that she, Eli, Kyuubi, Snow Girl, and Hanako aren't the only souls that exists here. It's like, there's something else and it is much bigger than each of them.
Has Dai Mao place something else in this place? Or perhaps this place has always belonged to another being?
Nozomi kept that question to herself and wishes that she could somehow find out without having to be troubled with something more today.
As she finally managed to feel the existence of a specific someone, she took a turn and sticks herself close to the wall, trying to get to know the situation. It seemed like there's nothing else happening than the two standing inside the room, looking around as if they felt something threatening them.
Nozomi decided to make her move again—and this time, she tried to make sure that the two didn't see her. She enters the room extremely quietly—sneaking through the shadows and preventing the light from the two reach her. Despite her quiet steps, Eli and The Beast seemed to notice her presence. An intimidating growl came out from them—Nozomi wasn't sure which of them actually made the sound. But looking at the physical body, she is very sure that both are very defensive right now and they could do something unpredictable.
Ignoring that possibility, Nozomi was persistent with her decision. With all of her courage, she slowly moved closer to Eli…
Then when she is close enough to reach the tail of the beast…
I wonder… can I touch that beast?
She asked to herself before she decided to try and reach it. When her hands reached the tail, she could feel her finger touch cold air, just like how every other ghost felt…
Ah…I can't….
She smiled faintly.
Then…there's only one thing I want to do right now…
Nozomi said in her mind before she quickly tries to reach the blonde—who unexpectedly made distance instantly,
She spoke nothing, but a furious growl on her…
"Please…don't be scared…" Nozomi said after her attempt was a total failure.
The beast—and Eli still does nothing but growl at her,
"I don't know what you are exactly, but… I want Ericchi back… that's it… so…please leave her be… let her have her life… there is still so much we can do together…"
The beast doesn't seem to be convinced, and neither does Eli. Instead of reacting to it, Eli and the beast once again escaped from the area.
"Ah! Wait! Please!" Nozomi once again had to run after—this time though, she got enough time to catch up and despite the difficulty of looking around, she keep running towards them.
"Please! Wait! Stop Running!" Nozomi shouted at them—but they just kept getting further and unseen.
Nozomi had to slow down and once again look for the person she is after…on her way, she noticed that there's a familiar looking structure with dim orange light illuminate from the hollow of the structure. For some reason, it reminded her of the well at the Shrine…
Could she be somewhere under the shrine's ground..? If it is so, then the bigger presence is probably what she expects to be… a Guardian God.
Knowing that, Nozomi felt herself gain more confidence going after the specific person. Remembering what the Snow Girl said though, she did say she could feel something big and scary… but is it the Guardian God or the Kyuubi that exists in her dearest friend?
Either way, she knows that this place probably has more favor on her. She slowly maneuvered around the place to reach the shrine and find Eli.
When she could feel another presence around her, she tried to approach carefully again,
Though it wasn't the one that she expects to be… Instead of Eli and the Kyuubi, she found the Snow Girl and Hanako, cowering in the corner of the room. She was about to ignore them—because they probably aren't that important to her…but….
"…Yuki-Nee-chan…. I'm scared… I can't even use my power anymore…." Hanako cried.
"I know…I know, Hanako-chan… please… stop crying… we can try to look for a way out instead…"
"But…seals are everywhere… We can't get out…. we will be stuck here forever…and with that Kyuubi and that scary woman…." Hanako replied,
"Toujou-san isn't that scary….she is a kind person…and she probably is our only hope to get us out of this place… after all, the Dai Mao placed me here with her because she has business with you…"
"With me…? Is it because I took her friend?"
"Not only a friend, Hanako-chan, she is also her crush…"
"A…Crush…?" Hanako tilts her head,
"Yep, she is deeply in love with the person you took…that's why she is so persistent…"
"Ah…." Hanako looked down to the ground—regretting her actions.
"I know you don't mean bad…but…next time, even though they seemed to be willing to be taken away to the realm, you should find out if they have anyone else that thinks they're important…"
"But…if that's the case, then no one can be taken to the realm…? I mean… there will always be someone who thinks people like them are important… those people just forget…"
"Hmm… can you tell me why you took her anyway?"
"Hnng…. Well…there was a time when I was just lingering around the art-room, then I saw her looking into the vortex flower. My friend was there! …my friend told me, the cold blue eyes showed depression and when I asked to my other friends… they said, she is currently wanting to die because….she was so confused about what she should feel at that time…."
"Confused….?" The Snow Girl asked.
"Yep! She said something like…. Ahh… She is following me around! Nozomi is so cute….but…no…there must be someone else better than me…. I shouldn't try….I really should not try…"
Listening from the shadows, Nozomi's heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She wants to believe but the other side of her can't believe what she just heard.
"…I don't even know who Nozomi is. But the next thing she said is this, '… I wish…something could just take me away from this place, I can't bare living around her anymore…It's too tormenting…'"
The Snow Girl was left speechless at how clueless Hanako is. It's clearly not a literal translation of those sentences….
"So…then I thought… This person seems cool and she seems to be liked by many… I can use her to gather more people…. But then at the time I tried it on that little girl with black hair…the cool person rebelled and I had to put her unconscious…. Then that scary woman showed up, intimidating me and I had to run away to somewhere quiet like this place….but… the cool person just suddenly woke up and a giant kyuubi appeared from her…. it's so scary!"
"Uhmm…Nozomi is…Toujou Nozomi…that scary woman you mentioned…." The Snow girl smiled faintly at her.
"Oooh! Scary! That Scary woman is in love with the cool person?! No wonder she wanted to die!"
Nozomi wish she could hit Hanako right now, but…maybe not now…
"N-No! No! You got it all wrong, Hanako-chan! Uhm… The cool person… Ayase Eli….or…uhm..called as Ericchi by the scary woman… she is also in love with her!"
"W-what?! That's scary! Did the scary woman curse her with that too?"
Snow Girl is really having a hard time explaining….
"Uhm….how do I put it…Hanako-chan…. it's uh…. a struggle…. They love each other…but they can't tell because they don't feel like they are worth it for each other…"
"I still don't get it…." Hanako replied innocently.
Nozomi smirked and she just decided to leave as she knew that The Snow Girl would try to explain again. But knowing that the two souls aren't that bad… it makes her feel better….
She once again traveled through the area—but as she is about to make a further step, suddenly the snow girl appeared right in front of her,
"Toujou-san! Wait!"
"What?" Nozomi asked.
"Please don't wander off from us, you need to protect us…"
"What do you mean protecting? I don't even know what I have to protect you from?" Nozomi replied.
"The Kyuubi, actually Hanako-chan told me before, her friends were all eaten by the Kyuubi when she was trying to fight it… it seemed to want to eat her too—and maybe I'll be the target later…"
"But…that Kyuubi seemed to be a lot more defensive…it has been running from me until now?"
"Because…you're alive…and it can't do anything to a living person… but it can do something to us!" The snow girl said,
"I see…." Nozomi nodded,
"We will try to help you with whatever you need, but please, help us as well….all we want is just to leave this place and we promise we will never bother you and your life again…"
"Why can't you leave the place again? I thought I saw the exit just nearby…?" Nozomi asked,
"Yes, but that well is sealed tight… there was something else down there—maybe it's the spirit of the lonely student who died after she jumped into the well. It's just to prevent her evil spirit from leaving…"
Nozomi lifted her eyebrows,
"If who you're talking about is the same spirit I saw before, then that can't be… the spirit left that place and I was the one who exorcised it…"
"Really? That's strange… but we swear we can still see the seal…"
"Maybe there's a leak somewhere, why don't you two look around?" Nozomi replied.
The Snow Girl put some thought into it…
"Let's just look at it, shall we?" Nozomi said as she noticed that the Snow Girl seemed to be flustered about the information.
The Three returned to the structure that looked like a well in the shrine,
Nozomi, The Snow Girl, and Hanako tried to look around for any leaks, but they couldn't find anything that showed any clue of a leak from the well. The upper, the bottom, and the sides are all sealed tight for the two legends, while Nozomi was still able to move freely around the well.
"It's really strange… I really find no leak around here either…" Nozomi said.
"Hnngg….what about the placement of the seal? Maybe you can move that away from the wall?" The snow girl asked as she holds onto Hanako's hand. Hanako remained quiet as she looked into Nozomi with full of fear in her eyes.
Nozomi nodded, and then tried to look for the seal…
"You should've told me that earlier, silly… we could've done this much earlier too…" she said as she approached the paper that stuck on the wall, and then picked it up which made the seals disappear. Hanako smiled and she quickly releases herself and floats to the well,
"Yaaay!" she cheered.
Nozomi and the snow girl smiled at her,
"Yuki-nee-chan! Come on! Let's leave before the Kyuubi is back!"
"I know...I know…." The snow girl replied as she headed to where Hanako stood. Without considering anything else, Nozomi placed the seal back on the wall, locking the Snow Girl and Hanako outside of the place.
"Bye-bye! Scary!" Hanako said innocently before she quickly leaves.
"W-wait! Hanako-chan!" the snow girl shouted.
Nozomi only smiled at the two before returning back to the dark hall way,
"W-wait! Toujou-san!" The snow girl shouted again,
Nozomi turned around to her,
"I know you're deeply in love with her…but…. are you sure….?"
"What do you mean?" Nozomi asked.
"You know….I've been thinking…. Maybe, you should just move on…" the snow girl said.
Nozomi tilts her head slightly, questioning the reason of that sort of thinking…
"…it's for your own safety…." The snow girl continued again.
Hearing that, Nozomi chuckled,
"I'll be fine, you're the one who told me that it can't do anything to me….right?"
The snow girl smiled wryly,
"There's a lot more people who needs you out there… and maybe they will appreciate it… you don't have to be someone whose special for someone, right? I mean… a kind person….will be in everyone's heart…."
Nozomi shook her head,
"Sorry….I don't want that…" she said.
The Snow Girl remains quiet to listen,
"….It's not too late yet, right?" the purplenette said with a wide fake smile.
The snow girl nodded—a hint of doubt in her eyes, but she turns herself around and floats up to the outside.
Knowing her tasks with them are finished, Nozomi returned her focus back to the dark place.
She carefully takes her steps as she moves around the area. She may not know where she is right now, but there's something that she is sure of…
Her feelings will never lie to her.
With that, she keeps searching for the specific person. And this time she is determined to surprise her once this is all over…this time though, she wants to make sure that she could corner them and force them to face her. No more running away from her own feelings.
Ericchi…
I'll save you for sure…
Just you wait….
She said in her mind.
But how strong is that nine tailed fox? How could the Snow Girl and Hanako be scared of it?
What will I do if it decided to fight back?
Eh—wait…it can't touch me!
She continued searching,
Honestly, I'm so tired… but I'm very sure that I have to do this...
Hmm..
I wonder what will Ericchi say about this heroic action?
Will she praise me and all?
I mean…this is something that's related to her life… right?
Nozomi giggled to herself,
What if she asks if I want anything from her?
Can I just ask for a kiss?
Eh—that's not enough… maybe we can go out with each other officially then….
She blushes at her own imagination,
Aaaaahhhh!
Intimate touching!
In a personal room!
I'll finally fulfill my dream of being touched by a pretty woman!
Or a handsome woman…
Hmm… Ericchi is so sexy…she is both handsome and pretty! Maybe she is cute too?
She places her hands on her own cheeks.
Let's just say this…
She is everything I wanted…
I can't believe she is actually in love with me too…
But she was too shy!
Ohhh!
I can't wait! I really need to have her as soon as possible!
Nozomi couldn't help but to not to clench her fists in excitement.
When she could feel a strong presence around her, she quickly takes a silent step, trying to make sure that she is hidden.
She noticed a faint light shining in the corner of the hall— which luckily is a dead end. It could be her advantage, but….
"H-Heelp…." called out a woman…but it's certainly not Eli's voice… it totally sounded like a desperate call.
Nozomi took a peek as to what was happening in the dead end of the hall….
There's Eli standing and doing nothing but crawling like a beast, then there's the beast still on her, and it partially devoured a woman's soul starting from her leg. Then it eventually swallows the hips….
"Please…someone…." The woman called for help again. She doesn't know who the woman might be…but now she knows what the beast can do to a soul.
Perhaps this is a good chance for Nozomi to show up and confront them…
"Stop!" Nozomi shows herself,
Then...it is really unexpected, the beast bites the woman and eats half of her body before it just disappeared. Nozomi's jaw dropped, unable to believe how brutal it actually is. The beast and Eli once again shows agitation before they attempted to run through Nozomi's side.
The purplenette swiftly caught the physical body—for some reason, she was also capable to hold the beast from running away.
"You can run, but not with Ericchi! Leave her alone! Now!" Nozomi said.
The body that she held started to rebel and tries hard get released, though Nozomi made sure to be gather all the strength she has to hold tightly and will surely never let her go.
"What's the problem of leaving without her, huh? She doesn't belong to you to begin with!" Nozomi said again,
Though, the struggle still took place and when the body finally turns around within the grip, Eli's physical body, grips onto her in a hugging position, before biting her neck….
Well…
Nozomi wasn't sure of what to feel now…
The position and all reminded her of how a beast usually kills their prey… by biting their neck and suffocate them…
But…..
This one though…..
It's a total failure, isn't it?
The mouth isn't big enough to suffocate her….
If two humans did the position…it just looked like something else….Now, it's time for the halved woman to have her jaw dropped, confused about what was exactly happening there. She certainly see how the beast tried to bite her, but then the body….
"W-whoa?! You Two! Being lewd in a shrine! That's not allowed!" the woman shouted.
"I-it's not like that!" Nozomi yelled as she tried to turn around to the woman, but that attempt caused her to lose her balance and…
"W-whoa!" Nozomi fell to the floor, still holding onto Eli while Eli also hugged her tight.
"Sin!" the halved woman said loudly
"Still not what it looks like!" Nozomi let out a struggled yell. The bite is rough—and it will surely leave a mark or a bruise. Nozomi tried to open the blonde's mouth to stop her from biting her—but the position didn't favor her too much.
She has to do something that could make the blonde jumps up in a surprise or something…
Nozomi tried to grab her on her breasts, and then squeezes it as hard as she could.
"Oh-My-God!" the woman hysterically shouted.
"It's still not what you think it is!" Nozomi shouted.
Either way, that attempt didn't work that well. Where else is sensitive for a female…?
With just a wild thought, Nozomi moved her hands to Eli's butt, it's so soft and Nozomi just knew the spot— she squeezes her butt as rough as she could.
"What are you two doing now?!" the woman shouted again,
"Just shut up! I'm trying to do something here!" Nozomi complained,
Yet again, the attempt is a failure and this time, she has no other choice but to grope around—the core area…
"By the heavens!" The woman shouted loudly.
Even though she protested, it proved to be working as Eli and the beast quickly turns around in surprise, releasing her bite and leaving herself vulnerable. Nozomi quickly jumps on her and pins her down to the floor with Eli's back facing her.
"What are you doing now, you perverted woman?! You have to seal her back already!"
"Seal her back?! What do you mean?!" Nozomi asked as she struggles to hold the blonde.
"The Fourth Seal, place it inside the heart, and then do the sixth on three spots near the heart, next, make the protection spell and spirit repel to strengthen the base…" The woman explained.
Nozomi realized that the woman might've been someone who has enough knowledge about spirits, or perhaps, she is an ex priestess who stays around here…? What exactly is this place….?
Either way, she did what she was asked to, starting from the fourth seal placed on the left body part of Eli, then sixth seal on both shoulders and at the back of the neck. And lastly, she made a protection spell as she tried her best to hold the blonde with her weight.
As the procedure was completed, the beast howled in pain before it absorbed back into Eli's body. In a blink of an eye, the beast soul disappeared and there's only an unconscious body under her now.
Nozomi carried Eli all the way up,
She was heavy and Nozomi had her energy drained from the fight—but she didn't mind doing it anyway. After all, she has achieved a victory that she could be proud of. And about the halved woman, appeared to be just a regular woman who has been staying around the shrine long enough to learn about her surroundings.
When they reached the surface, Nozomi knew that for some reason, the halved woman was able to pass through the seal easily. It's a mystery, of course, but why does she care now?
There's only Eli that she cares about for now and all she wants is to see her back to how she was. It's been a rough day for her and for Nozomi herself. It was such an adventure and she was sure that she also has learned enough for today as well.
She carried her to the shrine's lounge, a place that was supposedly exclusive for the shrine maiden. The room is usually used until night as some shrine maidens would like to stay the night so that they could wake up early and do the cleaning before they went off to do their own work.
It has some futons ready and it always stays clean and neatly stacked in the storage room.
When Nozomi placed Eli on the futon, a part of her was feeling somewhat concerned about her condition…but the other part of her tells something else….
Mmmh….Ericchi….you're so beautiful ….!
She said in her mind as she brushes her hand on Eli's cheek—pretending to be tidying up the hair that she lets down after she took off her ribbon...
Why did I always scream my heart out when it's about you?
This must be a fate, right?
A fate to fall in love with you…?
She continued again as she started to loosen Eli's uniform.
"I'm still here…you know…" said a woman—it's still the halved woman.
"W-why are you here?!" Nozomi asked.
"I'm the residence here, sheesh!" the woman replied.
"You haven't even introduced yourself!" Nozomi complained.
"Why would I?! You're the visitor here!" the woman replied,
"Fine! I'm Toujou Nozomi, a Shrine Maiden! Then this is Ayase Eli, my Ericchi!"
"A crush of yours, I suppose?"
"Yes!"
"Love between girls! How tragic!"
"Why tragic?!"
"You can't be together, right?"
"Oh shut up… we're together now…" Nozomi said.
"I mean, in the relationship way…."
"We will! Just shut up and take it…" Nozomi replied.
"Fine... anyways, my name is Kashima Reiko…you can call me Reiko…"
"You sound like the urban legend from Meishin Railway…"
"That's me, yes… then I dedicated myself to work in the shrine because I had enough with getting the same answers every single day…"
"Huh…what? What do you mean?" Nozomi asked.
"Whenever I came up to the bathroom and ask where my legs are…they always be like…. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! Or KYAAAAAAAHHH! Or….MEISHIN RAILWAY! MEISHIN RAILWAY! Then when I tried to ask who told them that since I'm always been returning from that place to any bathrooms …but then they were like… KASHIMA REIKO! KASHIMA REIKO….or like… WHO CARES DAMN IT?! or like…HELP MEEEE!"
"That's sounded pretty normal…I mean…Look at you…I bet you got used to the disfigurement…."
"That I am…" Reiko sighed heavily,
"I worked in the shrine so hard to grow my legs back…I was so close to get my feet but that kyuubi ate my legs again…."
"You're just a soul….why do you even need your legs…you can always fly you know…"
"Huh-what? Of course so that I could be pretty!"
"Ridiculous! Who needs to see you anyway?!"
"Aaaanyway! Your friend is going to be awake soon… I'll go do my thing…." Reiko said before she quickly crawls away.
Then as Nozomi turned to Eli—who still seemed to be sleeping—not so peacefully…
Suddenly, a familiar old woman appeared,
"Ah, you're here again…." she said.
"Kagemi-san…!" Nozomi turned at her,
"Nozomi-chan…. right?"
"Yep…!" Nozomi replied.
"Looks like your friend has been through a rough time… what happened to her?"
Nozomi doubted for a moment, wondering if she should tell her everything… but as she remembers how she met her for the first time….
"Well… you see…" Nozomi started,
She tried to explain the whole story from the very beginning of their investigation until the time they came up to the surface.
"Oh—My! That's rough…." The old woman replied.
"Mm… I wonder if she is really fine now? I mean…she has been asleep so I wouldn't know…."
"Hmm….actually, I wouldn't know as well… but…." the old woman looks at the blonde once again,
"….she seems to be fine…" she continued,
"Are you sure…?" Nozomi asked
"Simply, to have a Yokai sealed inside her… we don't know what it may do to her…but from what I know, it won't do much as long as the seal is tended every week. It's going to be troublesome for her…but…. with you—I think it won't be that much trouble… you sealed her yourself, right…?"
"Yes…." Nozomi replied,
"Then, that will be your job, to keep the seal…" the old woman smiled,
Nozomi gloomed to the sentence,
"What's wrong with that, child?" the old woman asked.
"…it's not that I don't want to do it…." she replied.
"Then…what is it?"
"It's just…. can I really do it? I mean… what if she goes loose again and I can't catch her?"
"There's a way to prevent that from happening—which is by being peaceful to the beast inside her…"
"I don't understand, I mean… it's a beast, a wild beast…I've never tamed one and….I don't think I can…"
"Have some confidence for yourself, child…"
"….you're more capable than what you think…" she continued.
Nozomi remained quiet feeling slightly gloomy about it all.
"Say, when she is awake later…. What will you do?" The old woman asked,
"I don't know…." Nozomi replied softly,
"Why…?"
"I don't even know how she will react to all this… to everything that happened….it was all my fault to drag her into this, plus…. She seemed to work hard for me too…with that mind map that she made…. It just—…." Nozomi paused,
"….I….I don't know…." her voice faded.
"Well…child, let me tell you something…. you don't have to worry about what you can't do for her…but care about what you can do and make sure it is with the right reasons as to why you wanted to do so… There are still so many mysteries you can solve together with her…and perhaps, you can finally place her soul to peace…"
"W-Wait…what?!" Nozomi flustered from the last sentence,
"Hmm…? What so surprising…?" the old woman asked,
"What do you mean by putting her soul to peace?!" Nozomi asked
"Hnm….do you have to pass away to be in peace…? Some people could live in peace, you see…."
"G…Good point…" Nozomi replied.
"Just like you when you have finally gotten her heart for yourself…."
Nozomi raises her eyebrows in surprise,
"I-It's not like that! I mean…it's not like I want her heart all for myself….I just think that—…."
Nozomi pauses as red began to display on her cheeks,
"…I….want her to think I'm special…that's why I'm putting this much effort….for her…." she continued.
The old woman chuckled,
"Let's just say, the girl in love is in action… but I hope, you truly will love her just the way she is… even though the world will be against you…."
"I don't understand why the world has to be against me… but if that's truly what I will face… then I'll show them who's the boss…"
"I'll hold onto those words, child…. I really will…."
Meanwhile, somewhere else;
The room is quiet, too quiet perhaps. The room is colored white matching with the ceramic floor, that is cleaned on a daily basis. The white bed and the medical tools stacked neatly in its place, gives off a gentle cold atmosphere through the entire room—despite the air conditioner being on in its usual average temperature.
A young girl with red hair, placed all of her focus on her tablet—listening to music while she browses through the web… Her sight may have never been special, but her ear always were. She always wears her headset to ignore all the unknown noises that she could hear.
Rather than listening to what the unknown spoke, Nishikino Maki— a daughter of a rich and noble family, always prefers to be absorbed in her passion of music. But with her ability to listen, she is often bothered with minor noises, resulting her with an ability to ignore and choose what she wants to take in her mind. An incredible focus, people says…
No wonder she has always been close to acing her scores in school…
Today, she has to wait in the clinic because there are a lot of emergencies calls that kept her parents in—and because there was also no one at home available to talk with, not that they're not nice… it just that Maki hates to be treated like a child by her butlers and maid. She has always been the more independent type, but she just can't….
The time when she heard a rattle—a death rattle from one of the patient, she just knew there will be another coming up. She sets her music louder, trying hard to prevent herself from listening to what she doesn't want to listen to…
Despite her attempts, she was still capable of hearing and identifying each word….
"….Oh…no…." said the patient,
"Where am I? Why am I be here?" he continued,
"Help! Help! Let me be inside my body! I can't be like this! Wake me up from this nightmare!" he continued again in his panic,
"Shut up, I have never found my body either… I don't even know where its supposed to be!" said another man.
"Anybody! Please! Anybody! Find my child too! Can anybody hear us!? Can anybody see us?" then a woman's voice came up.
"They don't care about us, it's useless… I've tried to shout from ever since a lot of years ago… nobody came up and nobody looks at us in our eyes…"
While they chatted with each other, Maki once again attempted to raise the volume into maximum, wishing herself to be deaf instead of being given with such hearing. The last attempt of her is to cover her ears and let the headset overwhelmed her ears with loud music.
She screamed in her heart that she doesn't want to care, she doesn't want to hear and she doesn't want to understand them. How can she escape it though? She doubts there will be any way of her to do so…
Back at the Toujou Residence,
The Shrine is fine, but the shrine couldn't give any chance for Nozomi to make an attempt of touching a specific girl. Perhaps it's wrong, but….
Really, Reiko is such a noisy woman. I can't believe she commented on every single move I did on Ericchi…. but perhaps she is just lonely?
Either way though, I'm all alone with Ericchi now… I can do anything I want! She won't even know!
Perhaps I should just make things simple…
Well…I just need to change her clothing now… she cannot be sleeping in her dirty uniform…right…?
The purplenette giggled as she began to strip the blonde carefully.
Ahh...such a good body..
She said in her mind as she brushes her hand on the Blonde's decently sized breast.
To be able to touch this all day…ahh…so great….
She keeps brushing her hands on her body instead of doing what she planned to do before….
Ahh…I want her so bad….
She said as she unbuttons her shirt, revealing the pale white skin…
She is so warm…
This must be how being intimate feels…
She placed her cheek on the blonde's bare belly…
And while her hand travel down to the waist and continue to move down to the core area…
This must be the sensitive area, right-right? I touched this before…and I bet she doesn't know….
It's strangely become so addictive ever since the first time….
She brushes her hand again and again.
Hnnghh….Aaahhh…..
I want you so bad….
She said again in her mind as she started to prod her finger against the white underwear under the skirt…
But then….
"I'm going to report you to the police for molesting me…" said a familiar voice.
"What are you talking about, Ericchi? I'm just trying to change your clothes….you can't be sleeping with that dirty—…." Nozomi paused,
"Ericchi….?" she quickly woke up from her 'guilty' position.
"What do you think you're doing?" Eli who had already woken up, was crossing her arms and looking at her sharply,
"Well…..I…." Nozomi lost her words,
Before she expects anything to happen, Eli quickly grabs her and throws her to the middle of the bed, pinning her down…
"You're such a bad girl, huh?!" Eli said angrily as she pinches both of Nozomi's cheeks roughly.
"Waaa-awaahh! Ewwwicwwhi!Hwuuwtt! DwadHwuuuttzz!"
Ok, please ignore the scene above this^
I mean...lol...can't be helped eh?