Chapter 3:Cavern
"I love you,Yu"...oh,fuck...she means it too,Yu thought,his mind racing.
Isn't this what I wanted,though?For her to open up to me?Not like this,but you do what you have to,I guess...
A lot of shit could go down if I continue down this path...but I guess I'll
just have to see how far down the rabbit hole I can go to find a confession that
I can actually use...
"Really?",Yu said,curiously,and Rei nodded.
"It's why I saved you for last...I knew you were pretty smart,at least smart enough to
know that you were the only one with no barcode. Then,after that,you decieved everyone but
that sneak Hajime into believing you did."She smirked at that.
"That's when I fell for you...you devious bastard,selling out your so-called friends to the wolf,all while
trying to save your precious Mitzuki...while I pulled the strings from backstage,holding the key to
salvation on my wrist."
She holds out her left arm,and sure enough,there's a barcode tattoo on her forearm,just above her wrist.
"So that's the main key...",I say,lost in thought."It's a tattoo..."
"Ink is thicker than blood,dont'cha know,"she replies,giggling.
I laugh slightly at her joke,but I'm thinking,Now I've got you,Rei...there isn't a chance in hell you can cover that tattoo up in a few hours,not without surgery...
"Anyways,shall we dance?",Rei asks,breaking my concentration.I look at her,and then at the center of the are many restaurant patrons getting up to dance.
Of course,I choose the one restaurant that converts into a dance hall.
"Sure,Rei...but,I'm not exactly-"
I get cut off by Rei dragging me off to the center of the dance floor,where many couples are laughing and doing various dances.I see people doing the foxtrot,the rumba,the cha-cha,and...is that a conga line?But most people,like Rei,are preparing to slow dance with their significant other.
And it's a good thing,too,since the band that's playing slows down the beat to play something a bit slower and all around,people swirl in a mass of colors and shapes,and all I can do is try to hold on to Rei for dear life since she's relatively shorter than so,we find a rhythm eventually,and slowly begin to dance.
"So,"she begins,"why me?"
I think about that,and say,"Well,you just seem really angry towards the world,and I wanted to know why,I guess."
She laughs a little,and looks at me,"No,really...",and looks at me with a serious face,"Why?"
"Well,I just-"
"There's something in your pocket...feels kinda blocky...anything you wanna say before I tell you what I think?",she slyly grins.
"I love you,y'know.",I feebly reply.
"Oh,cut the crap,"she says impatiently."I've known since the beginning this was a setup,and you've been getting me to reveal who I am,but that ain't gonna happen,you know why?"
"Uh,no,I happen to like recording stuff,and I just forgot to take it out of my pocket,is all.I need it for class."I say,pretending to be confused.
She still doesn't completely buy it,but her face softens a little.
"Wait...you mean...you aren't selling me out?",she asks.
"No,God,no,of course not...",I say,hugging hugs me back,and I say,
"Look,if you feel paranoid,why don't I go back to my place and-"
"I have a better 's go to my place and..."
She ends her sentence there,but her giggle makes me shudder a little.
Shit just went down...
About fifteen minutes later,we arrive at Rei's ,rather,her parent's house that
she obtained after they died in that car crash Rei told me about.
That's when her hate of the world started,isn't it...she hated the world because they didn't believe her,and she tried to kill herself-
No,I remind myself,that's just her sob story...or was it?I couldn't remember,it's all
a blur...the last little while is a blur,actually...
"Are you OK?",Rei asks,sounding genuinely concerned.
I look at her,and see a girl who's life has been shattered nearly beyond repair,and
who hates the world for taking her life from her.I see a good person doing bad things,no matter if she is a sociopath.
I...I think I might actually love her-
Oh,goddammit,Yu,pull yourself Christ,if you fall for this girl,you'll never free Mizuki!She'll be stuck in that hospital,in a coma,for the rest of her life!
Do you want that?
But she's lost in the world-
Who fucking cares!She is a felon,a criminal of the law who you harbour critical evidence on,
and you have a chance to place the crime on the rightful person!
Mitzuki is the one who-
I don't care anymore about Mitzuki!She killed one of our close friends after she saw us shopping together!She's a felon too!Rei needs my help more than Mitzuki right now!
You're making a mistake,Yu...
Well,I guess I'll have to live with it.
"Rei,"I say to her.
"Yes?",she says,hopefully.
"Would you like to know the truth?"
"About?"
"What this night was for."
"What do you mean?",she asks,genuinely puzzled.
"I've been recording our conversation from the beginning of the night up until now...to try and take you into the police,"I say damningly.
She looks at me with a curious face."But,then,why are you telling me all of this?"
I look at Rei,place my hands on her face,and kiss mouth tastes like red wine and 's startled at first,then embraces me as well and kisses back,giving me more of that strawberry and wine taste on her breath.
I sharply break off the kiss,and look at Rei and say,"I'm not turning you into the police anymore,Rei,because I love you,and I mean it."
She smiles,showing off her teeth,and says,"Well,that sucks for you,"and stabs me in the heart,"Since,y'know,I don't feel the you had been honest the whole time,then I may have believed you...if I didn't place that hypnotism over you."She giggles evily,and looks me dead in the eyes.
The last thing she says to me before I pass out is,"But I really do love you,Yu,so you aren't going to die...yet."Then she giggles,and the world leaves me.