Once a boy reaches the stage of getting to first base with a girl, here comes the most dreaded part of the relationship…
Meeting the family.
There's the mother, who hopes that her daughter finds a man who will make her happy both in the emotional, mental and financial sense. She will dote on the boy and ask him questions about his life, and the boy makes sure to look presentable as the family has a meal (courtesy of the mother) which is when the grilling from the father begins.
The father will make sure to tell the boy that the girl is treated right, or else suffer the consequences of a vengeful father. And the boy has to promise that the girl is treated well before the father gives his blessing.
I wonder what would have happened if I invited Bel to meet my family over dinner. Instead of something from a relatively normal family, I would be the one cooking a meal for four as Bel was introduced to my overworked mother, my now reclusive older brother with his prediction camera and of course, me and my questions about her. Hopefully, the meal and talk would have ended peacefully and Bel and I could have a relationship without everyone else hounding on us.
But, then again, asking for a peaceful life is out of the question now.
Because, as I would learn later on, there are no such things as perfect families…
Unless of course, they are manufactured to the highest bidder.
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2nd Shot:
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We Are The Strange
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So, here is what the boy has discovered today.
First off, Bel is a girl who likes an old sci-fi movie, Indian yogurt drinks and is one of the Dark Signers who dragged Kiryu Kyosuke to...well, not the afterlife, but probably something similar to it, and the rest of Team Satisfaction will be joining him soon.
Second, the boy's older brother may or may not be involved with some strange website because of how it coincidentally has his favorite number on it and there's an unsolved mystery in regards to that camera of his.
Third, the boy has learned that his closest friend growing up just jumped into the path of an oncoming train along with twenty-four other students - whether they're all from DCIS, or they came from different schools around the city, won't be uncovered for a while - from Carly.
And fourth?
As he clings onto Bel, this girl who has spent an afternoon in his apartment, telling her life story and having dinner with him, she has told the boy that his best friend has become something like her, a Dark Signer Acolyte, keeping this secret to the boy since school began.
But, looking back, it all makes sense. Jun not buying nor eating lunches yet having the energy to run despite running on empty, the fact that Jun was questioning about what the boy did with Carly over the weekend, how he was talking to Bel at PE…
The boy just questions why he didn't see all of this sooner.
Shooti feels close to vomiting as he takes a step back from Bel, his mind nearly overloaded with this information. Jun commits suicide, then it's revealed that he's been dead for practically three months? And revived by a Dark Signer, of all things?
So all this time, whenever Jun caught Shooti by surprise, or they shook hands, or when Jun asked for help on his English homework at home period (which is Jun's weakest subject), took pictures and more...he was dead?
Bel notices Shooti slowly drop to his knees as everything sinks in. She doesn't need to ask any questions, but instead waits for what feels like an eternity of silence, actually three minutes, before speaking.
"You were on vacation in Hokkaido when this happened," she says succinctly. "But Jun was strangled to death by the jail warden of the Facility known as Armstrong when the latter accused Jun of tampering with his deck before a showdown with Jun's father. Fortunately, Korni was observing the match and resurrected Jun because, trust me, you wouldn't have liked what Jun looked like after the torture ended."
Armstrong...Carly has told the boy that this man is bad news. Aside from that Iron deck he uses, his apathy, connections to some of the seedier members of Domino Below's underworld, and his disgusting habit of blowing nose hairs at other people, has made him hated by everyone in prison. One would have to be fearless or suicidal to survive against a man like that.
Jun's father is neither fearless nor suicidal, but he has a sense of honor and respect for many of the prisoners who aren't really as bad as the media (occasionally) makes them out to be and has been trying to find a defense attorney to help them leave and have better lives for themselves. After all, if no one will go out to defend them, who will?
From what the boy can recall, Kurotsugu plays an Invokers deck (to match with Jun's Samurai monsters as the boy knows that father and son love playing Final Fantasy X) and the boy knows how dangerous they can be when out on the field. But Jun going as far as tampering with someone's deck? No, there is no way that Jun would do something so dishonorable...it goes against the "Code of the Samurai" that Jun established for himself.
So...if Jun is dead, does his father…
Bel nods her head as if reading Shooti's thoughts. "Kurotsugu-san knows about what happened to his son, and has been giving us the 'locations' of our 'sweets.'" When Shooti looks at her confused, she smiles. "That's what Wataru calls the souls filled with sin, because people feeding on their sins like they are candy." she chuckles. "In fact, whenever we feed, the sin actually does taste like candy."
Shooti doesn't know whether to laugh alongside this living dead girl or crawl into his bed for three days. Instead, he slowly rises to his feet and swallows a lump in his throat before speaking.
"Jun is dead and he kept this hidden from me?" He whispers in disbelief and guilt for not realizing this sooner.
Bel sighs then frowns. "He knows how you would react; you would either be in complete denial about it or think it's one of his crazy jokes. Then, when it finally sank in…"
The boy really doesn't like how Bel is right about that line of thinking, but knows better than to argue with the living dead girl about his flaws.
"Ah, I see," says Shooti, plastering a smile on his face despite being shattered by the news. "So...how long will it be until Jun...heals himself?"
"He should be crying his eyes out in a few hours and his survival status will spread all over the news," Bel answers in a carefree tone like one would discuss the weather. Shooti clenches his teeth as he feels the tears ready to fall once more. Bel blushes and places a hand towards her mouth. "Sorry, was I insensitive back then?"
Shooti shakes his head as he wipes away another tear. "N...no, I'm just not used to learning that my friend is part of the living dead used for...why is he jumping in front of a train, exactly?"
"Remember what I said about that website?" Shooti nods his head. "There has been a strange epidemic of runaway teens…"
"That's perfectly normal in smaller towns," Shooti interrupts. "Why is it so important here?"
"Because most of the evidence connects that their disappearance is linked to Domino Haikyo. Jun has been doing investigations for us and, once he's recovered from being run over by a subway train, he'll be able to tell what he's uncovered."
"And...how long will that be? And wait, if Jun is already dead, there's no possible way that he can get a check-up at the hospital! They'll be taking his temperature and hearing his heartbeat but they'll find he's cold as ice and that he has no heartbeat! Worse, what if my mom was the one who had to check on him? What if she tries to talk to me about this? What would I tell her?" Shooti begins to hyperventilate and tugs on his hair. "This is bad, this is really…"
The boy getting slapped across the face by Bel and knocked down to the floor returns him to his senses. For an undead girl, she packs a powerful slap.
Bel kneels down and rubs Shooti's swollen cheek with a thumb. "I give it a week until Jun decides to come back to school, and don't worry about the hospital; we have a doctor who handles special cases related to the Dark Signers. They'll fix Jun up in no time with the medical records to prove it."
"O...oh…" Shooti stammers out.
Another minute of awkward silence passes before Bel stands up and extends a hand towards Shooti.
"Shooti," she begins. "There's a place I wish to take you. I mean, your mom is going to be pretty busy tonight and there's probably going to be a big announcement at the school tomorrow so homework won't be a big deal and all. Plus, I want to show you some very important people. That is...if you'll let me."
The boy pauses as he stares at Bel's hand, knowing he has a choice: refuse the offer and continue his way of living, or accept it and see what Bel wants to give him and to uncover what Jun has discovered along the way.
The boy quickly recalls what Kaibaman said to him that night when the Dark Signers entered his life - that it will get uglier if the boy decides to continue the investigation. But the boy has gone through numerous investigations with Carly time and time again, and nothing has happened to him. What would make this one any different?
Besides, if any trouble does happen, Bel will be by his side (and the fact that she's willing to explain what's going on, compared to Mr. High and Mighty telling the boy to stay away without elaborating on why it's a bad idea to pursue the Dark Signers, makes her seem trustworthy in the boy's eyes).
Without hesitation, the boy takes Bel's hand, ready to venture into an unknown world with this girl who, in the span of one night, the boy has started to fall in love with. This is probably what it felt like in "Hello Dolly!" in how this single moment with Bel is what makes the boy know that he has fallen in love with her.
"Take me wherever you want to go," says Shooti. "I'm ready."
And this is most definitely the boy's ninth mistake, for whoever is keeping track.
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Ten minutes later, after the boy changes out of his school uniform and into a simple shirt, jeans and orange hoodie and packs his satchel with various paraphernalia (his camera, his cell phone, a portable charger, a notepad and some pens, a bottle of water, a few rice balls, and a pack of tissues), he and Bel leave the apartment and walks toward what Bel calls "home".
And by that, Bel summons a portal of shadows where the door normally stands and takes the boy with her. The boy follows without question and it only takes a minute of walking through this tunnel of darkness before they see a light at the end of it (to which Bel reassures the boy that, no, he's not dead).
When the two step out, the boy finds himself standing in front of a grand mansion, one that he is quite familiar with.
"Here we are!" says Bel, standing at the porch of said mansion. "Home Sweet Home."
Shooti looks around him and tries to take it all in. He, like any kid his age, has heard varying rumors of this mansion. From it belonging to a scientist who manufactured a child for himself based off a woman he was obsessed with, to the legends of ghosts that kidnap naughty children, no one has been able to accurately pinpoint the mansion's history and no two people will tell the same story.
Bel takes Shooti's hand and walks him to the door, where she points, draws an intricate design onto it and whispers a phrase,
"Let the Gates to Paradise open."
And then, the door opens with a silent whoosh and Shooti has no time to react when Bel drags him inside, the door closing behind him.
Shooti looks around, seeing the interior of the manor having a Gothic feel to it. It is black, blackity black, black, black, from the chandelier above Shooti's head, to the paintings that line the hall, to the only source of light comes from torches in their sconces, their flames a bright violet color.
To Shooti, it looks like it came straight out of a Hammer horror film.
"Is it to your liking?" asks Bel, spinning around and bringing her arms out. When she spins, her clothes change from orange to black, and her eyes darken from vibrant green to jet black. "We did a little redecorating over the summer in order to accommodate our new Acolytes."
Shooti looks around and starts taking photos of his surroundings, the stream of ch'csh, ch'csh, ch'csh proceeding like a drum with a press of his finger. Bel giggles at the childlike glee shown on Shooti's face as he walks towards her.
"It's nothing like I have ever seen," he says. "I would love to be able to live in a place like THIS!"
Shooti is suddenly flung into the air, trapped by gossamer red threads that wrap around his leg and causes him to sway to the sides like a pendulum. Bel looks in horror before she smiles and shakes her head.
"Molly!" she cries out to the darkness. "Let him go right now."
"Aww…" A girl's voice whines. "But he could be a bad guy!"
"Now, Molly," Bel insists. "Shooti is my guest, and you will treat him kindly, okay?"
"...Fine."
Shooti struggles to free himself, swinging back and forth, back and forth to gain momentum. On the third swing, as he moves forth, he is met face to face with a girl floating upside down, with blue eyes staring back at him.
Just as it looks like he is going to hit her smack-dab in the face, the girl (Molly) raises her hand and the threads that bind Shooti unravel, causing him to fall…
And be caught in Bel's open arms.
Shooti blinks as he realizes where he is now as Bel giggles, before Molly - who has been standing on the ceiling the entire time - turns around and tilts her head back and forth at Shooti.
"If Bel says you're not a bad guy…" she says. "Maybe...maybe you're her Acolyte?"
"What...me?" asks Shooti while Bel helps him down. When his feet hit the floor, he looks up at the girl. She looks no older than someone starting kindergarten, with short brown hair tied back with a blue ribbon, a white blouse and a blue dress on top of that, white socks and blue dress shoes. Surprisingly, her skirt doesn't obey the laws of gravity; instead of falling "down" to expose the girl's undergarments, they act as if Molly is on the ground.
"Of course!" The girl giggles. "Why else would you be here?"
Before Shooti can formulate an answer, Bel sighs.
"Get down from there, Molly," she says. "We don't want to leave footprints on the ceiling, okay?"
Molly pauses then smiles and nods her head. "Okay, Bel!"
With a graceful flip, the girl descends to the floor, her outfit transforming into a black dress embroidered with spider lilies. Her bright blue eyes have darkened into a shade of black that causes Shooti to open and close his mouth in shock, trying to find the mental process to say something, but instead can only point to Molly with a trembling finger as he feels like the hallway is spinning.
Fortunately, Bel can pick up what is on Shooti's mind and sadly nods her head. "Yes, Shooti, she's dead."
"And she was resurrected as an Acolyte?" Shooti exclaims, wracking his brain around the concept of this little girl being in the same undead state that his best friend is in. "Who would do such a thing?"
"That would be me."
Shooti freezes. He knows that voice; it's the same one from two nights ago.
That same voice chuckles as Shooti turns around, seeing a woman with blonde hair in a bowl cut, her bangs framing her heart-shaped face, wearing a yellow and black strapless dress, black leggings and yellow high-heels. On her neck is a leather choker with a scarlet spider pendant and her left ring finger has a silver band with a bright topaz in the center. She also wears a pair of headphones consisting of a black band, white casings over the speakers (with a red triangle on the right and a blue triangle on the left) and a long black cable on each side of the headphones that go down to her knees. The woman smiles.
"So," she says, eyeing Shooti up and down. "You're the guest Bel texted about beforehand, correct?"
Shooti just nods his head as Molly giggles and gleefully wraps her arm around the woman's waist.
"Kamitsure nee-san!" Molly squeals. "Did you see that? I trapped him with my strings!"
Kamitsure, the woman with the spider choker, smiles and pats Molly's shoulder. "I did, sweetheart. But you shouldn't be tying up our guests. Otherwise, how will we ensure that they will come back to see us? Would you want to tie up any of your friends from school?"
Molly pauses in thought before she shakes her head.
"Exactly," says Kamitsure. She then looks at Shooti. "Oh, where are my manners? I am Kamitsure, Dark Signer of the Spider. And this little girl by my side is my Acolyte, Molly Hale."
"Hi!" says Molly, looking up at Shooti. "What's your name?"
"S...Shooti Hayami," Shooti answers quickly.
Kamitsure rubs her chin in contemplation. "Does this mean you're related to...him?"
The boy hesitates. If he lies to her, then she would punish him. If he says the truth, would she hurt him?
Seeing as the truth would set him free, the boy answers…
"Yes. Shuta Hayami is my older brother."
Kamitsure stares at Shooti with a knowing gaze before she smiles. "Well, at least we now know that you're an honest person. Let me at least reward you by showing you my true self."
Kamitsure brings her arm out, where the outline of a glowing purple spider appears. Then, Shooti watches as this woman's attire changes from a yellow and black dress to just a plain black cloak with red lines forming the image of a spider, the spider's thin legs stretched across her chest, before Kamitsure's eyes turn black. The older woman smiles as Shooti can only remember that woman staring back at him two nights ago.
Kamitsure chuckles. "You have such honest reactions. Now, why don't we continue this conversation in my room, okay?" She turns to Bel. "You don't mind if I have about ten minutes with him, right?"
"No, I don't mind," Bel answers. "I need to get my room cleaned up anyway. I'll be at the door when time is up, okay?"
"All right then! See you later!"
Kamitsure giggles as Bel heads off down the hall, all while Molly waves back and Shooti stays still. After a second of silence, Kamitsure blinks, and her eyes are back to a cool blue color.
"Well?" she asks. "What are you waiting for?"
"U...um," Shooti answers, looking back and forth. "Aren't you going to take me back to your room?"
"I will, I will. I just thought you were going to take a picture of me. They last longer than glimpses."
"Huh?" Shooti blinks, briefly glancing at the camera in his hands. "Um...is that okay?"
"Kamitsure-san and I love photos!" Molly giggles. "Come on, come on! Take a photo of us! Please?"
The boy knows that taking photos of the Dark Signers without Carly's knowledge (if she's even aware of Bel's true nature or where he is right now) will have him killed. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The boy can't pass this up.
Shooti hastily raises his camera to the air and watches as Molly beams at him while wrapping her arms around one of Kamitsure's slender legs. Shooti quickly takes a photo before Molly grabs onto Shooti's hand and practically lifts him off the ground.
"Hey, slow down! You're going too fast!" Shooti screams, feeling like he's been chained to a car going 70 km/h.
Molly skids to a stop two seconds later just as Shooti feels his face meet the door. Molly claps her hands as Kamitsure appears a second later and calmly opens the door.
"Forgot to mention that," she says, extending an arm out to help Shooti stand up. "But we Dark Signers have some unique abilities."
"I sorta noticed," Shooti groans as he takes the hand and rises to his feet. He pokes his head inside the room and gasps. "Whoa…"
The room is as large as his living room, and the walls are decorated with neon lights and posters of Sci-fi movies (He can see one of Blade Runner and Metropolis) and a shelf filled with a variety of books (he spots a few Ray Bradbury novels, one of them being The Halloween Tree) juxtapositioned with a cluster of adorable stuffed animals on a shag carpet. There is also a large bed with garnet colored sheets and black pillows and above everyone's heads are long red strings of Christmas lights. There's a laptop charging near the collection of stuffed animals. The laptop is paused at the screen of a show (Scary Godmother, judging by the looks of it).
"This is your room?" asks Shooti.
"Our room," says Kamitsure, placing an arm over Molly's shoulder. "She's staying with me until she can get adjusted to her own bedroom here."
"Oh…" Shooti then looks at Kamitsure and Molly before awkwardly asking. "Is Molly your...daughter?"
Kamitsure's mouth turns into a frown and for a moment, Molly looks a bit solemn. Shooti then places a hand over his mouth.
"Oh god, I'm sorry!" he exclaims. "I didn't mean to delve into anything personal or anything."
"No, no, it's okay," Kamitsure answers. "Although, Korni and I do think she'd be the perfect daughter if we were both alive."
"Ah, I s…Wait, you and Korni are…"
Shooti takes a glance at Kamitsure's ring and then back at Molly before Kamitsure giggles. His face turns red at the implications.
"We're engaged at the moment," Kamitsure begins, entering the bedroom. Molly approaches the laptop and sits down, pressing the play button so she can watch her movie. Kamitsure sits at the edge of her bed and kicks off her heels as she continues, "Our wedding will be after the school year ends, and we'll be having a honeymoon in Venice. Yes, yes, I know it's weird that I'm…"
"No, no that's not what I was thinking of!" Shooti interrupts. "I'm...happy that you and Korni are lovers. I just...it's the last thing I was expecting tonight."
"Oh, so what were you expecting?"
Shooti looks all around him before he says, "What's your job?"
"I'm a DJ, and I work a couple of nights a week at a nightclub, the one known as Silver Eye, not far from Satisfaction Town. I go under the name of DJ Kyew-Kyew and we're planning a huge dance party next week. You wanna come?"
"Er, no thanks. I'm not into places with loud music and all."
Kamitsure sighs. "Suit yourself. Now, next question?"
"Well...Bel told me about how Dark Signers absorb the sin of people, and that her sin is of Greed. What exactly is yours, Kamitsure-san?"
Kamitsure tilts her head to the side as she figures out what to say, all while Molly lies on her stomach on top of the carpet, her legs lifted up and her head resting on her hands.
"I take it that Bel has told you how she became a Dark Signer, correct?" Kamitsure starts. patting the mattress.
When Shooti nods her head, Kamitsure chuckles. "Well, did she mention how her father got his just desserts?"
When Shooti shakes his head, Kamitsure sighs. When Shooti just stands there, Kamitsure beckons him with a finger to sit next to her. Understanding, Shooti walks toward the bed and sits down.
"Her father was in a drunken rage when this happened," Kamitsure begins, her eyes growing stern, her voice losing its playful tone. "When Bel finally stood her ground after having people praise her for her performance, in one of the happiest moments of her life he came and chewed her out, threatening to ground her in front of these people, before revealing he brought a police squad over just to bring his daughter back. In the chaos, when the police started arresting people left and right, she ran away from him...and into the path of a moving car."
The boy slowly shakes his head when Kamitsure says that. Such a clichéd way to die, but it doesn't necessarily mean it isn't horrible. No matter how one dies, it is still painful and agonising to witness.
"And as Ascilla piscu, the Earthbound Immortal of the Hummingbird, worked to revive her and bring her back from the land of the dead, I was on the move," Kamitsure lifts her hand into the air and then, Shooti watches as faint red glowing strings materialize around the undead woman's arm. "I could sense that her father was angry, that inside of him was so much hatred that it was eating away at his very being, just as it had caused his daughter's death. I could sense it, and so could Uru. And yes, that's the name of my Earthbound Immortal." Kamitsure pauses and raises an eyebrow. "You are getting this down, aren't you?"
Shooti blinks before he rummages through his satchel and pulls out the notepad and pen. He then makes a few notes before he looks at Kamitsure again.
"I unleashed my Strings of Wrath upon him, and let them siphon away all of his anger. The more anger and hatred inside a person, the more strings that wrap around the target, cocooning them and draining each and every drop of anger out of their hearts. It took a while for the process to complete, as he was struggling (like all victims do) and screaming obscenities that I dare not repeat else I would be scrubbing Molly's mouth with soap for two months.
"But the gist of it was that he hated me for 'poisoning' his daughter into running away from home to perform in a place such as 'this', along with how my outfit was too 'revealing' and other things. At this point, Bel's resurrection was complete, and she tore through my Strings of Wrath to have a good tongue lashing at her father, stating that his 'love' for her ended with all of this happening, that if he actually let her go out and be with people and see the world, instead of sheltering her like a nightingale for only him to listen to, then she wouldn't have died, that she would have shown how much she loved him. But it was too late."
Kamitsure's smile looks sorrowful now. "Bel's anger for him was potent, potent enough that my Strings of Wrath went overboard and nearly killed that man. He was angry, he was borderline abusive...but to be killed by his own daughter's wrath would not teach him a lesson. I had to personally intervene and tell Bel that the worst punishment to give her father was to live. He would have to live the rest of his life knowing that he indirectly killed his daughter, and that any time he would feel wrath at someone, he would go blind."
"Ah, blinded by your own rage. I see." Shooti finishes writing his notes. "So...what about you? How did you..."
"If you're asking me how I died and became like this, I'm afraid our relationship level hasn't reached that far yet," Kamitsure answers with a wink. "Now then, do you know anything about your brother's recent work?"
"N...no," Shooti stammers out, looking at his notes. "All I know is that one day, he's acting nice and sweet, if a bit aloof, and then...he just vanishes one evening without saying goodbye or anything."
"Why would he do something like that?"
"Maybe because…" Shooti bites his lip. "Because he might be hiding something and doesn't want his family to get in the crossfire?"
"Interesting. But what exactly would a photographer like him be hiding? The photo evidence of a conspiracy? Maybe a politician having an illicit love affair? Tell me, your brother specializes in haikyou, correct?"
"Yeah. Bel showed me that website...about those sites that became haunted after my brother took those photos."
"How exactly would your brother be able to create instant haunted photos? Surely there can't be that many spirits resting in there. Shooti…" Kamitsure places a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Tell me...what's happened to your brother?"
The boy looks at his notes, contemplating on what to say. This is something that is so secret, not even Carly knows what's happened. The boy just told Carly that Shooti has gone on a very important photoshoot and didn't have time to say good-bye. Whether or not Carly believed the boy- the boy is a bit of a bad liar and has a bad habit of averting people's gazes when he says false statements - is unknown, but the subject about Shuta's whereabouts hasn't been brought up - even if this disappearance would be good for Chasing Shadows although the website isn't for "Missing" people.
If it did, then it would be of good use for a classmate in the boy's year, Shinji, who has been searching for his older brother who was last seen heading out to challenge Seto Kaiba.
Plus, how can the boy immediately tell something like this to a Dark Signer so soon? It's...it's not the time.
Shooti sighs, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I...I can't explain it, not yet."
"...I understand," Kamitsure answers before standing up. "When you're ready to talk, then talk. Just remember though...the longer you keep this silent, the longer it will take to find out the truth and the more people who will be hurt in the end."
Shooti blinks and turns to Kamitsure. "Wait, what do you mean by…"
"Oh, look at the time!" Kamitsure suddenly shouts, turning around to face Shooti. She smirks. "Ten minutes is up, and I should get you to Bel before she thinks I'm hogging you all to myself!"
"W...wait!" Shooti says. "I still have questions."
"Oh?" Kamitsure tilts her head. "Like what?"
"Like...like…" Shooti quickly glances at Molly happily watching her episode and humming a tune to herself, oblivious to Shooti staring at her. Kamitsure nods her head in understanding.
"You know how in the horror genre, especially for kids, there's always something about a cursed doll that bears a grudge for being abandoned and the like?" she asks.
When Shooti nods his head, he comes to the horrifying conclusion. "You mean…"
Kamitsure nods her head as she looks back at Molly cheerfully watching her show. "Her father, Dr. Spencer Hale, was a well-renowned archaeologist who had to make frequent trips away from home. On one particular trip, a stranger arrived at her house and handed her a doll named 'Alice', who would become her best friend. They did everything together...if only for a short time.
"You see, the doll she was given hated being abandoned, and when Molly began to go to school, she found herself spending less and less time playing with Alice compared to her playing with her flesh and blood friends. But one day, after coming home, Molly was led into the attic and she found Alice alive, walking, talking and angry. Molly's father foolishly placed Alice in the attic, and in doing so, all of Alice's pent-up rage of being abandoned manifested and she unleashed the spirit of all abandoned toys, hurling the poor girl out of a window where she…"
Shooti doesn't need Kamitsure to finish that sentence. That...that is a horrible way to go.
"I was on an important tour and took a stop at Greendale. That's when Uru tipped me off about some being filled with anger. I arrived just in time to find Molly's body still fresh and quickly revived her. No child should have to die like that. Of course, this was in full view of her father, who had just returned from a meeting in town, and then Alice arrived with the embodiment of an abandoned toy's wrath, Doll Chimera.
"I don't want to annoy you with details, but Alice summoned the Doll Chimera to kill Molly's father. After all, in Alice's eyes, it was him who caused all of this to happen-if he didn't put Alice on the shelf, none of this would have happened. He too died, much to Molly's horror. So, I decided to duel Alice, not only to feed from her anger and hatred, but to exorcise the darkness in Doll Chimera's heart.
"The duel was tricky; every time I thought I destroyed that thing, it kept coming back, more deranged, more twisted and more broken than ever. Eventually, I managed to win, and Alice's anger was mine, and with enough energy from Uru, I brought Molly's father out of the land of the dead. The poor girl, after I had fed, realized that she had committed a terrible sin, and said that if I wanted to kill her, then she deserved it. I had a better idea."
"And that idea was…" Shooti trails off.
Kamitsure smiles sadly. "It took a bit of doing, but Uru successfully gave Alice a human body and also rewrote Dr. Hale's memories to believe Alice was his daughter. Molly couldn't go back to her old life anymore; she was one of us now, destined to eventually take my place as a Dark Signer. So, the morning after this whole affair even started, I took Molly with me to not only continue my tour, but to get her integrated into her new life. Of course, she was sad about the entire thing, but a few weeks of this life in Domino has brought her back to her normal self."
When Kamitsure hears Molly laughs at something, the smile on her mouth stretches out like taffy. "Now," she claps her hands together. "Time to take you to Bel, then! Don't keep her waiting!"
Before Shooti can even say "The Tale of the Dream Girl", Kamitsure has her strings attach themselves to Shooti, lift him onto his feet and, like a master puppeteer, she stretches her fingers so that Shooti is flung toward the door (which opens by itself) and watches himself collide into Bel with a soft thud.
"That...could've been better," Shooti mumbles, shaking his head. He then looks down, glad to find that his hands are on Bel's shoulders and not anywhere lower, and sees Bel now dressed in normal attire: a white blouse with a black camisole underneath with the two covered by a large orange jacket, green chino pants, her blond hair topped with a large green beret decorated with a white bow and her feet covered in large orange sneakers with a black stripe in the middle. She also has those glasses from this morning, too. Bel just giggles as Shooti scrambles to stand up.
"Take care, you two!" Kamitsure says, waving a goodbye. "And don't do anything too romantic, okay?"
She closes the door as Bel stands up, dusting herself up before she takes Shooti's hand. Shooti takes it, albeit a bit warily, before the two walk toward Bel's room, arm swinging back and forth.
"So," Bel begins, her green eyes staring at Shooti's grey ones from beneath her glasses. "What did you learn about Kamitsure-san?"
"She's...a DJ, lively, likes Sci-fi, she's motherly...and a lesbian," Shooti mutters that to himself, which makes Bel stop walking and tighten her grip on Shooti's hand. Shooti winces. "I mean, I have nothing wrong with people like that! Don't take it the wrong way, please. It's just...unexpected and out there compared to knowing that your best friend is a walking dead now."
Bel loosens her grip and turns to Shooti, her face neither showcasing fury nor sorrow. After a second, she notes, "Kamitsure-san and Korni-san are lucky…"
"Lucky that they get to be together even though they're undead?"
"Lucky that they found each other, lucky to have a chance in love as they are right now I...I never had that opportunity back when I was alive.."
The two begin to walk again, but Bel's cheerful swinging of arms has vanished. All the same, the boy squeezes her hand as a sign of comfort, as a way of saying "I am here for you". The boy knows that no one held her hand as she died. In her eyes, she died alone without anyone who truly loved her there for her. Here, the boy is making the statement that, no matter what state she's in, he is there and he will not leave.
"Bel...just how long have Kamitsure and Korni been together?"
"They were together about two years before I was reborn."
"And...how long have you…"
Bel suddenly stops once more. "We're here."
Shooti looks up and sees that they are now in front of Bel's room, with the symbol of a hummingbird engraved on it. Bel raises her arm to the door, the mark of a hummingbird glowing violet before the door slides open. When the door slides all the way, Shooti sees a bedroom with a color scheme of orange, green and white. Orange walls, a bed with orange bed sheets and green pillows, a bookshelf painted orange with green leaves and white flowers, a desk with an orange lamp, a phonograph to the side on a cute green stool...it all just has a warm, loving glow to it.
"This is your room?" asks Shooti, looking around.
"Yep!" Bel says, dragging Shooti inside. "What do you think?"
Shooti takes a minute to take in the details, especially the variety of vinyl records on the bottom shelf of her bookshelf, and the bead curtain that covers her bed. "It's so...you."
At this, Bel blushes. "Y...you think so? I've never had a guy tell that to me before…"
Despite Bel's undead status, she was still just a girl; a girl who would forever be a girl and never experience the idea of finding her true love and live happily ever after.
"I think you're just….you," Shooti elaborates. "This girl who decided to take life, er un-life, into her own hands and find out who she is despite what everyone tells her. I mean, going into an underground show for one performance art act that could've had you mauled to death? Standing up to your father like that? And now...now you go after souls filled with greed. I...I'd break just from the first part…"
"...You think so?"
Shooti smiles. "I know so."
At this, Bel returns the smile with one that brightens up her face. Shooti cannot help but want to take a photo of this Bel...but knows that taking the photo without permission is disrespectful. Instead he seats himself at the edge of Bel's bed as Bel practically skips to her bookshelf and crouches on the bottom shelf, fingers flying through numerous records as she pulls one and inspects the album image before shoving it back.
As she does this, Shooti looks at the orange wallpaper, seeing the imagery of hummingbirds painted with so much detail, it is as if they would come to life if Shooti willed it do. There are hummingbirds in flight and hummingbirds sipping nectar out of flowers. There is also a large purple hummingbird glyph painted on the ceiling, casting an ominous feeling of dread down Shooti's spine. It is as if he is being watched.
Shooti calmly pulls out his camera once more and takes his photos. It may seen mundane to photograph bedrooms, but each of them show an aspect related to its respective Dark Signer that no one else knows about. For all he knows. Shooti maybe the first reporter to actively research these mysterious beings.
"So…" he says. "Your Earthbound Immortal is a Hummingbird, huh?"
"Yep," Bel answers, nodding her head. "And don't think that these birds are weak just because they're small; they can be pretty nasty when provoked."
"Ah. So Bel...have you ever…"
"Yeah, I fed on sin before," Bel answers, not even looking at Shooti as she pulls out a record from the bookshelf, Please Please Me by The Beatles. She pulls out the vinyl record out, inspects it, then flips it over. "You should try a more creative question."
"Okay…" Shooti thinks for a few seconds before asking, "So, who was the first person you fed on here in Domino?"
This makes Bel pause before she swiftly asks, "You know those three teens?"
"Which three?"
"The ones known as Yugi Muto, Jounouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiroto."
Know them? How does a duelist in Domino City not know the names of two of its greatest duelists and one of the city's first ever Duel Riders?
Bel approaches her record player, sets the record onto its proper place, and then gently places the needle on the slowly spinning record. Then, there is the sound of a guitar, and George Harrison's voice croons,
"You never know how much I really love you…
You never know how much I really care…"
Bel bobs her head to "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" as Shooti feels his cheeks turn red at what the song lyrics imply, imagining Bel asking him that very question, his heart beating rapidly at how that would play out. Especially when he hears the lines "I'm in love with you".
"Well," says Bel, ignoring Shooti's blushing face. "Everyone knows how close those three can be. But, do you know the story as to how they became friends?"
Shooti shakes his head; to him, and to most of the other students at DCIS, it always seemed as if those three were friends since the very beginning.
"Jounochi and Honda always picked on Yugi under the pretense in trying to make a Yugi a man," Bel explains. "This caught the eye of the Hall Monitor, Ushio Tetsu (no relation to that Security Officer, Trudge) who, as a 'favor' to Yugi, 'punished' the two trouble-makers by beating the ever-loving shit out of then and tried to tempt Yugi into dishing out his frustration against the two. Most people would have taken up in that type of offer; Yugi wasn't like that at all."
"Instead, he told Ushio that Jounochi and Honda were teaching him to be a man, actually defending them even despite all the bullying hey put him through. Ushio, as you may have noticed, didn't like this at all, and delivered a kick to Yugi's ribs, telling Yugi that he needed to pay a sum of ¥200,000 for that service."
Shooti stays quiet as he takes it all in; he knows that there is no way Yugi could have that type of money at the time. "So…how do you fit in all if this?"
As "A Taste of Honey" plays, Bel smiles. "I can smell the allure of Greed a mile away. I was actually listening in on the conversation the minute I sensed Ushio's greedy soul, and followed Yugi back to the Kame Game Shop, before I called Ushio and asked him to meet in front of the DCIS campus later that night."
"But there's no way Ushio would accept your challenge. Unless…"
Bel giggles. "My time as a Dark Signer gave me the power to cast glamour spells, making me appear 'normal' or even take on the appearance of anyone I wanted, voice and all. However, I decided to go the extra mile and project an image of Yugi that looked like...well...like this!"
She closes her eyes as an orange magic circle forms beneath her feet. Then, it rises, transforming Bel's cloak into the standard male DCIS school uniform, the blue jacket flaring out for dramatic effect, along with a studded leather choker and matching spiky bracelets. She gives herself the face of a slightly older Yugi Muto with fierce crimson eyes and even has Yugi's signature spiky hairdo, but with three additional lightning bolts sticking out. Shooti looks in awe as Bel twirls around and winks, a sign that says it's okay to photograph her.
Shooti immediately takes two snapshots as Bel sits down next to him and his heart beats against his chest. He has to admit that this type of Yugi Muto is quite handsome, even if it's just Bel under some sort of glamour spell.
"And thus," Bel speaks in a deep baritone voice (which momentarily catches Shooti off guard). "I challenged Ushio to a Shadow Game: in my hand was an envelope containing ¥400,000 and we would place the money on the backs of our hands and stab as much as we could with a knife. Whoever stabbed the most - without stabbing ourselves in the process - would win.
"Even with this 'form' that you see in front of you, stabbing a knife through numerous bills is no easy task, especially when a Shadow Game reveals the true nature of a person's soul. Fortunately, since I had grown up without desiring material goods, I didn't need to worry of the shadows. Ushio, however, was not that lucky.
"We were down to the last ¥50,000 when he tried to stab it. His knife hand started to tremble, even though he knew that doing so meant stabbing himself. I had warned him of such a thing, that this represent the greed carried deep within his heart, but he didn't listen and tried to stab me with that knife. Ha." Bel laughs. "By trying to attack me, he had lost the game and had to be punished.
"I grasped onto the knife and used it as a conductor to absorb all of his avarice and turn it into energy. And any excess greed leftover transformed into a Greed Gem…" Bel picks up a jewelry box, with a hummingbird as the lock, on her bedside table and opens it. "Like this."
The boy's jaw drops at the amount of gemstones in the box. Bel could probably buy a mansion with that type of money. Perhaps she helped buy this mansion (and all her assorted furniture) just from one or two gems alone.
"And when I finished," Bel adds. "Ushio's punishment was this: the first was an illusion of Greed; he would see ordinary trash and leaves as if they were cash.
"And the second one? Well, his soul was consumed by greed, so what would happen if he were to be consumed by a being of greater greed than him?"
"And...what type of being would that be?" Shooti asks hesitantly.
Through her guise of a red-eyed Yugi Muto, Bel smirks. "...a dragon."
Of course. Dragons are known for amassing various amounts of gold, jewels and treasure. A man who is so consumed with greed be defeated by one of them makes sense.
"Of course, he wasn't really devoured by a dragon, but in his mind he was. Last I heard, he was sent to a mental health center, but he can only be cured if he gets rid of his desires.
"And as for Yugi and Jounochi and Honda, they became the best of friends, oblivious to the person who brought retribution upon this greedy hall monitor, none the wiser."
Shooti looks in awe and fear as he hears John Lennon sing "Twist and Shout" and Bel picks up a piece of jewelry from her box: a signet ring with a large emerald stamped with the image of a winged serpent in the center. She then slips the ring onto Shooti's right ring finger.
"Take it," she says. "I can make more of them if I choose."
The boy looks in shock and amazement at the ring, looking at his hand at different angles and seeing the winged serpent, for a moment, hiss at him.
"You really don't have to do this…" Shooti mutters, attempting to pull the ring off of his finger. Seconds pass, but he finds that it's now stuck to his finger. "Um, is this supposed to clamp onto my finger?"
"Oh, sorry about that," says Bel, lightly tapping the side of her head with a fist. "I enchant some of my jewelry with different abilities. This one is used as bait for a greedy soul and sucks the avarice out of it. The greedier a person is, the more paralyzed they should feel, until they find themselves encased in a gemstone cocoon for their sin."
"Tell me, Shooti...what exactly do you desire?"
Shooti looks around the room, unsure what to say. He can feel his finger stiffen as the ring starts to glow. Bel's smile doesn't help matters; Shooti cannot tell whether it's a teasing grin or a sadistic smirk.
"I...I want to follow in my brother's footsteps," Shooti begins. "I want to be able to report on some of the crazier things that happens in Domino. I would one day like to have a job in Chasing Shadows. I want to uncover a huge scoop like the one that my brother may or not have a connection to.
"And Bel, I want...you."
Bel blinks as Shooti suddenly feels like a weight is lifted off his chest. Shooti pants and places a hand to his heart all while Bel asks (still in that glamour of Yugi Muto), "Me?"
Shooti nods his head. "I..I don't know why, but when I first saw you at Satisfaction Town, I didn't know what happened but it's like...like I had to be with you. When you showed up at school today and how we're getting to know each other...I felt so different.
"Of course, I know you just want me here because I'm 'needed' for something special. But...for as long as you want me, I want to know you better. Please…" Shooti stands up and slips a hand into Bel's own. "I want to know why I have these feelings for you...and I want to do what I can to help you, to help the Dark Signers, help Jun...help find my brother…" He lowers his voice as he says this. "Will you let me in?"
Bel looks back at Shooti's grey eyes before she smiles.
"Yes."
It is like a love confession, what the boy said. But if the boy could be honest, there is something about Bel that's so... different from the rest. And it isn't just because she is undead. It is like how one could try different brands of a product to figure out which one was right for them.
But, like all love confessions go, someone was there to kill the mood.
"Bel! What's going on in there? You're supposed to be…"
Shooti and Bel turn to see a teenage girl in a white dress with red trim and black bike shorts underneath the skirt, along with matching white and red roller skates. Her lemon colored hair is pulled into a high ponytail and her bangs stick out of the holes of her grey helmet. The newcomer stares at the two in shock, mouth open to say something, then closes it, before she bursts out in laughter.
"Gotta say, Bel," she guffaws. "I never thought you'd be into that kinda stuff!"
"It's just for an explanation!" Bel exclaims, the words and her voice clashing. This causes the older girl to laugh even louder as she skates towards Shooti, shaking his hand.
"Heya!" says the roller skating girl in a chipper voice. "The name is Korni; nice to meet ya!"
"...Korni, huh?" says Shooti, pulling his hand away. "The one who is engaged to Kamitsure-san? The one who resurrected my best friend, Jun?"
"Mm-hmm!" Korni answers with a nod of her head. "He's my Acolyte, ready to go when it's time for me to pass the torch." She tilts her head from side to side as she takes good notes at Shooti's attire. "So, you're Shooti, right? Well, I think…"
She doesn't get to finish her sentence as Shooti brings his arm back and socks her right in the face, hard enough for her to fall to the ground with a yelp. Bel gasps as Shooti pants, hand curled into a fist as he looks down at Korni, staring at her eye-to-eye.
"You…" he snarls, gnashing his teeth. "You're the one who told Jun to jump in front of a train, right?"
Korni sits up, placing a hand where Shooti punched her, before sighing.
"No, that wasn't me," she answers. "It was Wataru-san who requested that Jun infiltrate the group who would jump off that train and Jun himself was nervous about the entire thing." Korni shakes her head. "I felt his screams in my head before those students leapt, how scared he was before…"
She lets the sentence hang there as Shooti pushes back the image of his best friend's body being torn apart underneath the train, blood spraying over the windows, much to the surprise of confused and horrified passengers and the screams of bystanders as everything goes to Hell. Bel, now back to her true form as a young girl, approaches him and hugs him from behind.
"...Why?" asks Shooti. "Why would Jun agree to do something like this?!"
"That is something you'd have to ask him about," Korni answers. "So, you're getting a grand tour of our humble abode, right?"
"That's the idea," says Bel. "He wants to help us in our mission to uncover the mysteries of Domino Haikyo."
"Ah, I see. Well," Korni clears her throat (which, as an Undead being, it is completely unnecessary). "I think it would be best if you have a bit of a breather in my room before you continue. Then, I can at least tell you the story as to how I met Jun. Would that satisfy your curiosity?"
A story would never make up for the fact that the boy lost his best friend. It certainly does not make him feel better about how said friend is currently nothing more than a blood covered armless, legless faceless thing that loved RPGs, running, and banana bread.
Still, this was important. The boy needed to know how it all came to be.
"Go on," says Bel, gently patting Shooti's shoulder. "Take as much time as you need, okay? And if you need me, well I'm always close by."
Shooti turns to her and nods his head, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart when Bel steps back. Then, he turns to Korni, determination in his eyes as he tells her,
"Tell me everything."
