I made my way back to Kurumi, quarters in hand. "Explain this machine to me, Shawn." she demanded. "All right. This is called a skill crane. The goal is to use these buttons here..-" I pointed to the front of the machine. There were two buttons with different arrows. One pointed up, the other pointed right. "...to control the crane there..-" I pointed to the crane itself. "...so that it'll pick up a prize there." I pointed to the storage of the machine, which housed various stuffed animals. "If you successfully grab an animal, the crane will drop it into the slot here." I finished, pointing to the drop-box of the machine. "Seems simple enough. Can I try it now?" she asked. I handed her a quarter.
"How about I return the 'thank you' from last night? Do you see a prize you would like?" she asked. I looked at all of the prizes the machine had to offer. There were little stuffed dogs, cats, lions, pandas, even penguins.
I adore penguins.
"I'd really enjoy having one of those penguins, if you insist." I told her. She nodded and put the quarter in. The machine lit up and played some noises. Kurumi must have enjoyed it, because she smiled pretty widely. Me, on the other hand; I was still trying to work off my high, and the machine was giving me a bit of a headache. She held down the button pointing up and waited for the crane to get to where she wanted it. She then let go of that button and held the one pointing right. When she felt the crane was over the penguin, she let go of the button. The crane lowered and picked it up, only to drop it. "I almost got it!" she exclaimed.
I smiled. "Hey, that was pretty good for your first try." I told her. She looked to me and smiled. But something got her attention near the entrance behind me.
I turned to see a little girl, looking at all the machines. She seemed really interested in everything the arcade had to offer. She had blue hair, a pair of rain boots, and an adorable coat on with rabbit ears on the top. She even had a rabbit puppet with a black button on its right eye on her left hand. When I looked at her face, I saw the innocence only a child has. She didn't even notice me and Kurumi because of how interested she was in all of the machines. But as adorable as she was, something about her seemed a little bit...off. She kept talking to her puppet. Like, full conversations, back and forth with it. "Yoshino." Kurumi said to me. "Huh?" I turned to her. "She's a Spirit, like me."
"Great. Another one." The man across from Shawn sarcastically announced. Shawn nodded and yawned.
"A Spirit? Wouldn't that make you both, like, sisters or something?" I asked. "Hardly. That puppet on her hand is Yoshinon. Something like a second consciousness to her. She may not seem like it, but she holds great power as well. Of course, not as much as me though. I want her power." she said. "And to take it, I will kill her."
I watched Kurumi's eyes as she stared intently at the child. I was hoping this was just another one of her "jokes", but based on the look in her eyes, I could tell it wasn't. To take the life of such an innocent-looking child; I just couldn't process the thought. "But, I said today was meant for fun, and I meant for the both of us. Yoshino can wait I suppose." She told me, still staring at the child, though her eyes seemed less intense. I turned again to see the child was looking back at Kurumi, fear embedded in her eyes. The machine let of some noise to remind us to try again. Kurumi and I looked back to the machine. I turned to look at the child again, but she was gone.
The tension and heat of the arcade was starting to get to me. "Would you mind if I stepped out for a second to get some air?" I asked. "I'll be here when you get back." she said, smiling. I gave her the rest of my quarters and walked out of the arcade to a light snowfall. The snow felt absolutely amazing. I wandered off to the side of the building and started counting how many dollars I had left. As I was counting, a burly-looking man walked up to me.
"Hey. How much you got there?" he asked. "About seven dollars." I told him. "Oh, cool! You should let me have it." he said. "Sorry bud. I need it for a special occasion today." I answered casually.
Oh, I knew what he meant. But I figured I'd do my best to play it off.
"I don't think you understand." he said. I put the money back in my pocket.
"And I don't think you understand." I replied, getting frustrated.
"This is your last chance. Give me your money." He was getting angry.
When you lose everything, all you have left to hold onto is your pride. And if I gave up my money, no matter how small the amount, it would also mean giving up my pride. I looked him dead in the eyes. "Fuck off."
Without warning, he gave me a right hook across my jaw and pushed me against the wall. I lunged back at him, giving him an uppercut to his jaw then following with a left hook to his chest. "Come on!" I yelled, the adrenaline starting to kick in. He gave me a quick jab to my mouth and a left hook to my nose. The taste and smell of blood was getting stronger by the second; My blood. I spit some of it into his eyes and gave a couple quick hooks of my own to his jaw. He quickly wiped off my blood from his face and he saw he was bleeding a bit through his mouth. He then put his leg behind mine and swept me to the ground. My head must have hit the concrete pretty hard, because my vision went blurry for a second. When I was able to focus again, I saw a fist go straight for my right eye. My face was knocked against the ground. What I saw next was a boot heading for my face. I quickly turned my head to try and avoid it, only to have my temple stomped. That's what knocked me out cold.
"Shawn...Shawn.." I heard. When I finally came to, Kurumi was standing in front of me, calling my name, again. When I opened my eyes, everything seemed a little fuzzy at first. When I was able to focus, I noticed Kurumi won the stuffed penguin she was trying for. I tried to play of what happened; Make it seem as though it wasn't a big deal. After all, what kind of servant would I be if I seemed weak? "...Hey, you won the penguin." I said, casually and weakly. "Yeah, I was pretty excited when I finally got it. So excited, in fact, that I felt the need to come out and tell you about it. Needless to say, I'm not as excited as I was five minutes ago..." she said. "Yeah...Sorry you have to see me like this." "It's quite all right. Really. Take your time getting up too." she said, sarcastically. My head was already pounding a lot, and climbing my way back up to my feet didn't help much. I wiped off most of the blood from under my nose before it had a chance to dry any further. "Come on. Let's go back and get you cleaned up." she told me, a more compassionate tone in her voice.
Once we made it back inside our hotel room, I went straight to the bathroom to clean myself up. I looked in the mirror and examined my face. I saw that I still had a bit of blood under my nose. I turned the faucet on and splashed some water on my face. I rubbed my face with the water and made sure to be thorough under my nose. I looked back up at the mirror to see my right eye was slightly blackened and bloodshot. I dried off my face with one of the towels on the rack next to me, then left the bathroom.
I stumbled to my bed and found the penguin that Kurumi won was resting on the pillow. I sat at the edge of my bed and took my hoodie off, then looked to Kurumi, who was sitting on her bed. "I'm sorry..." I said. I don't know why I was apologizing for getting my ass kicked. I guess I was just looking for a way to ease into a conversation. "If I ever see any of your blood again, I'm drinking it." she told me. I couldn't tell if it was another joke or not, but I nodded. "This just proves that I'm right about you humans." She began. I looked to her. "Most of you humans are an absolute evil. Sure, there are good people out there who mean well, but in this case, the bad outweighs the good. You humans. You go out of your way to harm each other, rob each other, lie to each other, kill each other, and even go out of your way to simply spite each other. I can't trust many of you. You may call what I do killing, but I call it exterminating parasites." she told me. I didn't give what she said much thought. "I promise. If I ever see that guy again..." I started. "Oh, you will. We're going to track him like the animal he is." she said, confidentially. "How are we going to that?" I asked. She smiled and stood in front of me.
A black mist-like substance suddenly came out from under her feet, completely devouring her. It seemed so unreal, like something out of a movie or something, but it was happening right in front of me. She reemerged from the black substance, but dressed and styled completely different. On her head was a crimson net bow. Her twintails were tied out, unevenly, with her right one being shorter. Her bangs were held up, fully exposing her left, gorgeous eye. She wore a dress made of crimson and black frills, her look more elegant than she did before. On her legs was a pair of black pantyhose. Finally, on her feet, was a pair of black boots, ready to crush the skulls of any person she chooses. She was enough to make any man's (or woman's) heart pound twenty times faster. "Well? What do you think of my Astral Dress?" she asked.
I was in awe. She was and still is, my definition of magnificent. "It's fine. You can tell me later." she giggled. "Now, let's get to it." She held out her hand, almost like she was holding something. That same black mist reemerged from her arm and seeped into her hand, forming a vintage flintlock pistol. At this point, I had too many questions to keep track of. She came over and sat next to me. "Try not to get too excited." she said, giggling a bit. She leaned the side of her head against mine. She pointed her flintlock against the other side of my head. "Yod." she spoke, before pulling the trigger. I felt a small rattle in my brain, followed by a small flashback of the fight from earlier. It all scared the shit out of me to be honest. When she pulled the trigger, it took the breath out of me. As I was gasping for air, she got up and went to the middle of the room. She turned to face me. "You stay and rest here. I will find the man who did this to you." she said, smiling with certainty. The black mass appeared again from under her, this time forming a black hole in the middle of the floor. She slowly seeped through and was eventually gone, along with that black mist. Given everything that happened, I figured the best thing for me to do would be to rest up. I laid back on my bed and did my best to get some sleep.
"Shawn...Shawn.." I woke up to Kurumi calling me. "I found him." she told me. When I woke up, it was pretty dark, so I sat up and turned the lamp on my nightstand on. I looked at the clock on the wall. It read about 7:30. I looked out of the window and saw the sun setting slowly over the horizon, some clouds moving in. I looked back at Kurumi. "All right then. Let's start walking." I said, getting up and putting my hoodie back on. I went to walk out the door, but she stopped me.
She wrapped her arms around me, one arm going from above my stomach towards my shoulder and the other resting horizontal, just above my stomach. It was almost like she was hugging me.
"Let me take you. It'll be faster." she said. That black mist appeared again, this time under me as well. She seeped into the floor again, taking me as well. It didn't take us long to become completely submerged. With the light from the floor above me closing, I looked around in that black substance. We were in a void; Maybe something similar to the inside of a black hole in space. Being in that void was so nerve-racking. I could feel my chest get tighter and tighter.
I looked up again to see a small opening. We slowly rose towards it. Eventually, we were completely out of the void. As soon as I was back on solid ground, I dropped to my knees, gasping for air. "Sorry. I suppose it needs some getting used to. Look up." she said. I looked up to see a nice-looking house, woods surrounding both it and us. The night clouds were moving in and getting thicker. I got to my feet and took a look around. It seemed like a nice and cozy area, which lead me to believe he must have been doing well for himself. So why would he feel the need to rob me?
I turned to Kurumi. "Are you ready?" I asked. "For what?" she said. Her question left me pretty confused. "...To get revenge?" I said. "Oh! No. I'm not going. This is your revenge. Not mine. What you do in there is up to you." she explained. I could see her point, so I nodded. I walked up to the house, trying to plan out what I wanted to do. The house itself was a one-story home. It definitely didn't look like it could house more than three people. To the side of the house was a separate garage. I peered into one of the windows on the side to see a living room with a small t.v and a kitchen in the back. I walked to another window and peered inside again to see the bastard from earlier in his bed, sleeping peacefully.
Fuck. Him.
I walked over to the front door. I turned the knob, just to see if it was unlocked. And to my amazement, the idiot actually left the door unlocked. I carefully opened the door and quietly snuck in, closing the door behind me. I made my way to the kitchen and started searching through some drawers. I found a box of matches, next to a sharp chef knife. I took the knife and closed the drawer. Before I left the kitchen, I found his wallet on the counter. I searched through it to find some money, bot mine and his. I took the money and examined his ID.
Jason Sheppard.
Born March 23rd, 1989.
Caucasian.
Didn't say he was an organ donor.
I kept his ID as a memento and put the wallet back on the counter and made my way out of the kitchen.
With the floor making small creaking noises under me, I silently made my way to his bedroom. There he was, still sleeping like a rock. I noticed a twelve gauge double-barrel shotgun leaning against a dresser next to his bed. I crept over to it and picked it up. I checked it to find it was still loaded. I kept the knife strapped to the back of my belt. I took a moment to watch him sleep, wondering how he could live with himself.
I aimed the gun at one of his knees. I squeezed the trigger and a loud bang was heard throughout the house. The shell ripped right into his knee. Some blood and bone started to soak into his bed. It was a very rude awakening to say the least. He quickly shot up and held onto his knee, screaming and wrenching in agony. "Hey, Jason! Did you miss me?" I yelled, sarcastically. He looked at me, trying to control his frantic breathing. "Y-You!" he yelled. "Oh, come on Jason! I have a name too ya know!" I yelled before blowing out his other knee cap.
He sat there, wrenching in pain, holding both of his knees now. "A-Are you serious?! All over a couple dollars?!" he yelled. "This goes a bit beyond 'a couple of dollars', Jason!" I assured him. I dropped the gun and gave him a punch across his jaw. His head fell back down to his pillow. I pulled out the knife and held it against his neck. "Before I do this, I need to know. Why did you rob me if you were doing so well for yourself?!" I yelled. He knew he was going to die, so in his final moments, he decided to spite me one last time. He smirked a bit. "B-Because I could! I did it because I felt like it!" he exclaimed, even laughing a bit.
As soon as I heard that, I could feel something inside myself snap and break. I instantly thought about what Kurumi said back at the hotel; That humans are evil, untrustworthy, and go out of their way to harm each other. It was then that I realized, she was right.
At that moment, I completely abandoned any form of humanity I was holding onto.
I took the knife and dug it into one side of his neck, sliding it across the front and to the other side. I dug my hand into his neck and ripped out his trachea. He was alive to feel it all. I watched his eyes move frantically, they even teared up a bit. I still wasn't satisfied. I must have stabbed him fifty fucking times.
It was obvious he was now dead. I walked out of the front door, his blood stained onto my hand and some on the sleeve of my hoodie. It started snowing gently, making the moment all the more beautiful. I walked over to Kurumi to see her smiling widely at me. "You were absolutely terrific in there, Shawn!" she exclaimed. "Huh?" I asked, confused. "I could see everything through the window there. It was quite a show you gave me. It was absolutely...exquisite." she explained. "In any case, did you let it all out? Are you content now?" She asked. My adrenaline was through the roof, and my anger and hatred were becoming new appetites to feed. I shook my head a bit. "Excuse me." I said before making my way to his garage. I opened it up to see a car and a lawnmower. Next to the lawnmower was a fuel can. I picked it up to see it was full to the top. I took it and walked back to the house.
I took the cap off and started to make a trail of gas, starting with the living room then walking into the kitchen. I stopped and looked through the drawer that had the matches in it. I took the matches and put the knife back. I then lead the gas from the kitchen into the bedroom and sprinkled some of it on the corpse, whose eyes were still wide open and filled with terror. I stopped trailing it until I went back to the living room. I made a second trail connecting to the first one and lead it out the front door and eventually back to Kurumi. I threw the empty canister to the side and pulled out the pack of matches. I looked at Kurumi. "Would you care to do the honors, Ms. Kurumi?" I asked in a joking tone, offering her the matches. "Such a gentleman" she said warmly. She took the matches and struck one before throwing it on the gas.
The fire lit and rushed into the house. In a matter of seconds, the entire house was engulfed in flames. The snowfall became heavier as the fire burned bright. "It's beautiful, Shawn." she said.
It certainly was, but it was then that I realized she was more beautiful than any arson.
I held her hand with my blood-stained one. She looked at me and smiled warmly. "I'm sorry you couldn't have any more fun at the arcade today." I said. "It's fine. This is more fun anyway. In fact, let's enjoy the fire a bit more before going back." she said, still smiling. I smiled too and looked back at the fire. The city was just past the woods surrounding us, so we couldn't stay for very long before people started reporting a fire. But we enjoyed every second of it.
Together.
People are born with a consciousness, one that limits them from doing what they please based on "ethics" and "morality". Most choose to listen to their consciousness. This consciousness limits us; Holds us back. Every moment I spend with Kurumi, I break through this consciousness more and more. She set me free that day and continues showing me the joys of freedom.
Shawn yawned again. "Would it be all right if we took a break for now? I'm tired and I'm sure you are too." He asked the Commander. The Commander, still somewhat shocked from what Shawn was saying looked at his watch. "I can give you an hour. After that, we get right back into this, understand?" He said. "Yes, sir." Shawn said before putting his head down. The Commander picked up his pen and notepad and left the room. As Shawn rested his head on the table, thoughts of Kurumi filled his head before he drifted off into a nap.