Hello there! I read your reviews and uaaah! I'm so happy you guys like it and of course, cliffhangers everywhere! XD Anyway, Do you want to know about that woman? Or how come she denied Izayoi's beloved stepmother's words? Then reaaad and then desperately wait for another chapter! Ah, and I will have to disappoint you, Renato Chaos, it's Black rabbit we are talking about so it isn't anything important that distracted her ;)
Chapter 11: Prepared...?
"Aiharu didn't say that" she stared at me with serious eyes.
Wha- How did she know?
How did she know Aiharu's name?
Why did she told me that Aiharu didn't say those words?
Why was everything around spinning...?
Izayoi's P.O.V.
Cold, I was freaking cold. I didn't remember anything. Where was I? Why was everything so blank? So dark? I was lying on something soft and felt... a blanket? I don't remember going sleep...
Slowly, I opened my eyes and groaned as the sharp and intensive light attacked my vision. I covered them by my forearm and that's when I perceived the light pain on back of my head.
"What-" unconsciously, my mouth moved on its own.
"Izayoi-kun?" It was Ojou-sama's voice. "Are you awa-"
"IZAYOI-SAAAN!" Yeah, this was none other than that stupid rabbit. I uncovered my eyes and blinked a few times to get use to the light.
"Shut up, you're noisy" I snapped, annoyed by a sudden din. I forced myself to sit down, but felt the horrible weakness in my body and pain on mythe back of head.
"You should stay still" I heard the animal girl.
"No need" I said, fed up with those 'you should' or 'you shouldn't' this and that. I patted the place I felt the dull pain.
"Your head hurts?" Ojou asked, obviously not surprised.
"Yeah, what happened? I don't remember anything" I told her a little confused. Seriously, why was I still here? I know that I went to the city so how come was I here? Why was everything in my head so fuzzy and mixed?
"You don't?" Kasukabe questioned.
"Nope" I confirmed.
"We wanted to ask you yourself since no one was with you." The animal girl informed.
"By myself? Wait, everything is blurry, could you please explain it from the start?" I requested tangled.
"You serious, Izayoi-kun?" Ojou looked at me and then sighed. "We went to the festival" she started.
"Yeah, I know that" I agreed.
"We were looking around for a while and then Black rabbit suddenly ran out somewhere and we, Yo-san and me, chased after her. You stayed there alone" The brunette explained and scanned my face.
"And what happened then?" I inquired while trying to drive a little sensation into my fingers.
"Who knows? We just heard some old men talking about a blond boy with winter clothes passing out. Of course they were talking about you so we hurried back to see what happened and found you unconscious on the ground. Maybe you don't remember because of the fall on your head?"
Heh? What? I just looked at her with a blank face and tried to comprehend what she just said. We were out, in the place where was a festival. Black rabbit ran somewhere, so did those two. I stayed, alone... I was thinking about something. About something important yet sad... about her words?
Yes, It was about Aiharu's... last words. I felt how much my body started to shiver as I remembered of her. But then? What? It was gradually clearing, an old woman grabbed my hand and said something. I had headphones on but took them down. What did she told me?
"Aiharu didn't say that"
Cold, so cold! I noticed the sudden flinch I unconsciously made and the cold sweat on my forehead. My eyes were fixed on my hands but I didn't see them. Everything was getting so dark and blunt, I was frustrated. I found myself irregularly breathing and panicked. What was happening? Why was I shaking? Why did that woman say something like that. How did she knew Aiharu? And her name? Her last words? H-How?! Wha-Why?!
Sharp pain. I felt a sharp pain on my cheek and that's when I got pulled up from those chaotic thoughts.
"CALM DOWN, IZAYOI-KUN!" I finally perceived that Ojou was screaming with all she had.
Black rabbit was holding my shoulders and was looking at me with extremely worried expression. Just now I realized it.
I fell into that pathetic state again and hose three were trying to make me compose myself, again. And just as I felt on my left cheek, Asuka aka Ojou-sama slapped me so that I would wake up. I would really praise her for that if it didn't hurt so much...
"Are you okay now?" Kasukabe asked while waving her hand before my eyes.
"Yeah" I assured them and gazed at the long-haired brunette. "Thanks?" I fakely laughed so I would distract myself from these thoughts.
"What's the matter?" Black rabbit demanded an answer as she wiped a tear falling down from my eyes. Wait, tear?
"Wha-? Nothing!" I rubbed those two violet thing on my face and laughed in bewilderment.
I laughed, with a fake and empty voice. Still rubbing my eyes, and bending down my head because of embarrassment I continued on laughing.
"Ah? What's happening? Why are those annoying things reappearing?" saying it with a mouth curved into smile was hard and wierd. Why was I crying? Because Aiharu said 'I hate you' when she was dying? Because I remembered her blank and painful expression? Or because some random granny just told me that she didn't say those words? Was I whining because I was relieved? Relieved that my memory was wrong? Or because I was reminded of the past? I was confused. I was scared. I wanted an explanation, I wanted a solution!!
Soon, the laughter turned into helpless cry. God, I no longer know what to do...
I felt someone holding me in a tender embrace and patting my head while saying 'Shh'. My teary eyes took a notice on blue hair before my face was buried into them. Silky... Just like Aiharu's brown ones.
"It's okay, it's okay" Black rabbit was comforting me. I just silently sobbed and realized one thing.
Deep, very deep inside, I was dying
Asuka's P.O.V
Could someone tell me what was going on? Could someone please tell me what to do in these kind of situations? Should I just be quiet and stare at the weeping boy or say something? Say what? How was I supposed to know?!
"Iza-" before I could even pronounce his name and attempt to comfort the blond, Black rabbit hugged him.
I just stared, yeah, I just helplessly stared at them and waited for Izayoi-kun to stop. Please, stop!
"Shh, It's okay" the blue-haired bunny whispered with the gentle voice. "It's okay"
I was never good in these kind of things. I didn't know how to react, and even more not now that the one crying was Izayoi-kun. I wanted to make all the things that made him break down like this disappear. I want to dispose of everything that could ever make someone so strong cry so much.
"He's asleep" Black rabbit whispered and carefully laid him in the bed and put a blanked at him.
I looked at him, with eyes swollen and his eyelashes sparkling because of the tears, he was inhaling and exhaling like a child.
"What...?" I asked, unsure what I wanted to know. The reason he was like this maybe?
"Yes, what just happened?" Yo-san stared at Black rabbit.
"I'd like to... know it too" she smiled painfully and looked at us. "I want to know that too"
Izayoi's P.O.V.
"Aiharu!" I yelled at the woman. "I'm sick of this, let's stop!"
"Buuut! You don't have any clothes! We have to find as much cute ones as possible!" she declared enthusiastically and pulled me by the sleeve somewhere into a mall.
"Look! It's so lovely, isn't?" she grabbed a T-shirt with two teddy bears holding a heart...
"Am I a girl?" I asked shocked by her taste.
"Oh come on! This isn't girlish!" she said while looking at other ones.
I shivered as she took a pink shirt with a title 'I love mom' and even more when her eyes discovered one with 'Love me' written under a rainbow.
I sighed. "Aiharu, you have no style"
"That's not true! Look what I found you" she showed me green shorts. They were normal.
"This can do" I approved of them.
"Right? And look here" she turned the pants.
Oh my dear god, are you kidding me? Seriously, Aiharu did NOT have a style. To think she would really pick shorts with a bear face on the butt saying 'No touchy!' Could I go and kill myself?
"N-O WAY" I refused while crossing my arms into X.
"I-kun!" she whined, putting on puppy eyes. Heeelp mee from this heeelll!
And so I spent a whole day arguing with mom about buying those stupid things. At the very end, I was allowed to choose myself.
I was really, really happy that someone went through so much trouble to buy me clothes. I was so delighted that I got a mom who loved me and cared for me. Was this a dream? Even though I enjoyed it all, I was still scared. What if this is just all lie? What if one day it will all end? What if someday, I will lose her?
"AIHARU!" I screamed, begging that all of this was just a nightmare. It was just a very scary nightmare, right? Please, someone tell me it is, right?!
She was lying on the floor, covered in own blood gushing from her head. The before so cheerful face was losing its color and her skin, ah, why was it so cold?! Why was this happening?!
"MOM" I plead, crying as much as ever. "Please, answer"
Why was she saying nothing? Why did she look at me like that? What was with those eyes? So empty yet sorrowful...!
"You see?! You are just a monster! You bring just misfortune, you are evil! If you have never involved this woman, she wouldn't have to end up like this" one of them said. I didn't want to listen to them, it was way too painful to hear their words. My beloved mommy was dying in front of my eyes. I held her in arms, calling her again and again.
"She has to hate you so much, don't you think?! It's all your fault! Just your! If you just got lost and didn't involve others, this would never happen!" he continued, madly laughing.
Lies, Lies, LIES! She couldn't hate me, right? I love her and she loves me. We cherish each other, we are family, right?! RIGHT?!
Suddenly, mom started crying. She was trying to say something, slowly her lips moved and whispered:
"I... hate... you"
And then, her eyes closed. Her heart stopped. My word was torn apart.
I was torn apart.
Wait
"She didn't say those words"
What?
"Aiharu didn't say that"
She didn't?
But I heard it.
"She didn't say those words"
Yes she did.
"She didn't"
"If she didn't then what did she say?" I asked from sleep and suddenly woke up. It was already dark.
I sat down and stared somewhere in the room. No one was there, but I heard some voices from the downstairs. I stood up and headed toward door so that I would get out of this place. However it wasn't a good idea since my legs were a little numb. I fell.
"Damn this" I cursed and stood up again, this time annoyed enough to ignore my disobedient limbs.
I opened the door and slowly walked down the stairs, leaning on a railing. Finally, I got to understand their words:
"But what could have happened?" It was Black rabbit, her voice sounded awfully concerned.
"Who knows? But we have to find out on our own, since that crybaby is... unstable now" tch, thanks for being so honest, Ojou-sama.
"But how? We are from different worlds after all" Kasukabe remarked.
"I can tell you myself" I joined their conversation as I stepped into the room. "I guess?"
I owed them an explanation since I made them so worried. Yeah, I had to be pain in ass, right?
But there was just one thing troubling me. Was able to speak about it? Could I tell them without breaking down or getting an attack? Was prepared to confess my sins?
Ok, this time no cliffhangers XD I know this chap was boring but it is kinda essential to start the real thing you know? Well then, matta ne? :)
Ps: I'm sorry for a short chapter! *bows down and beg for forgiveness*