Secret of the Goddess Chapter 4
I was extremely worried that day. I knew that the presentation of my idea would not start the apocalypse or anything along that line, but I did not want to disappoint Shiori and ruin all chances of getting her to open up to me. The butterflies in my stomach felt like they had wrecking balls for wings. I crept up to the library door, entered quietly and wondering if my worries had made me late to the meeting. "Sayuri! You made it just in time." The library club president's voice sounded harsher than the last time. I greeted everyone and took the one empty seat at the table. "Let us start off with… our newest member! Sayuri, is there anything you would like to contribute today?"
"Yes." The eyes at the table looked at me in shock. Was I not supposed to say that? Should I have waited until the next meeting to present my idea? At that point, there was no turning back. "Well, I was thinking that, well, being a gamer…" I cleared my throat. A few girls giggled, not realizing that I was not doing it for their amusement. "I was thinking that the library should have an area for people like me."
"Could you please get to the point?" announced the pestered president with a slight touch of anger in her voice.
"Oh, okay. I was thinking that we should have a section of the library with CDs, DVDs, and games." At that moment, in the corner of my eye, I saw Shiori's eyes begin to fill with a bitter sadness and a pinch of hatred. Oh crap. She stormed out of the room in her own quiet way. Everyone turned in shock.
"Well, I am sure glad she is gone… The girl does nothing but sit there and listen to our meetings. It is a little creepy if you ask me… What if she is some sort of spy or robot?!" Half the table giggled. I sat there in silence and disgust. "Well, back to Sayuri's idea. Personally, I love it. We only need a three fourths vote to approve something in the library club, so it doesn't really matter if pink bows is here or not. So, to the voting. All in favor of a new section of the library, say I."
The whole table said "I" in unison. Everyone but me. "Sayuri, aren't you going to vote for your own idea? I think its brilliant. It seems the rest of the club does too."
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter since the I's win it." said the girl across the table from me, giving me a small wink. The meeting ended shortly after. I wanted to find Shiori, but soon I remembered that I would probably never escape the eternal grudge she held against me since I had said those stupid words.
"See you at next week's meeting!" the girl sitting across from me screamed in my ear.
"I… don't think I can make it."
"Well, that's a bummer. See you around them?"
"Sure." I slowly crept towards the exit of the library.
The next day had been quite normal. I had gone to school, had an average day, and then walked home. Although, the day took a large turn at dusk. I received an urgent call from that girl who sat across from me the other day. "Sayuri! Come quick to the library! It is an emergency!" I had a feeling that there something must be up. Normal days had become abnormal for me.
I rushed to the library. "Is everything okay?"
"No! The passcode won't work!"
"Well, why did you call me?"
"Because of this." She motioned towards a sign taped to the door.
"It's from Shiori." I whispered to myself.
"Exactly. The rest of the library club is extremely disrespectful to her, but I saw a look of guilt in your eye when she left the meeting. I personally think that she is a sweet girl. I do not want for her to get in trouble with the rest of the library club. Please don't tell them about this."
"I would nev-"
"What the hell is going on here?!" screamed the president, walking up behind us with a crew of people.
"What do we do?" I whispered.
"It's no good. Just tell them everything."
The group approached us. We explained everything and showed them the sign taped on the door. This was all my fault.
As everyone pounded on the innocent library door, I heard faint voices coming from the roof. "We need to figure out what she's trying to accomplish. Yup, that's the strategy." I found an excuse to leave and carefully planned a way to reach the roof. I was about to begin climbing, then thought "What if someone sees me?" and "What if I fall?" I was tempted to get the girl, who I still had not learned her name. If she trusted me, I could probably trust her. But getting her would involve seeing the rest of the library club which I did not want to do. I decided that I would just have to take some risks.
At the end of the climb, I spotted Elsie and Katsuragi. They were obviously plotting something, and I figured that it was best for me to stay hidden and not interrupt. I was too tired to put any effort into listening in, so I just stayed hidden. Until, I heard the shatter of the concrete library roof. I jumped out of my hiding and realized that Katsuragi was gone. Elsie was too worried about Katsuragi that she did not notice me casually finding a new and more comfortable hiding spot.
I sat there, my eyes on the hole. Nothing happened. I waited and waited, until finally something happened. Elsie sat down. The endless waiting continued. Elsie suddenly sprung to her feet and to my surprise, another massive creature came out of the hole. It was just like what I had seen happen to Kanon.
This was obviously not like what I suspected. I ran through hundreds of possibilities in my head, but nothing quite made sense. This was obviously something supernatural. After seeing the creature come out of Kanon, I figured it must be the same for all the other girls Katsuragi and Elsie were with. What if the creatures were all of the despair in their lives? When they were with Katsuragi, they left the girls and made their lives better. If that were the case, I would have already had one.
My family was always a bit… interesting. Both of my parents died in a car accident. The pain was too much for me to handle. So, I gave up. I attempted to cover the thoughts and pain with a new hobby, so I got into dating sims. Everything was going well for a while. I was living with my incredibly sweet aunt and uncle. I was not at my highest point at the time, but I was at least a little happy. Until, one day, possibly the lowest point in my life, my aunt sat down with me in the living room. Her face looked as if she were in the middle of a major war, watching all the others die. She explained to me that there was something wrong with my uncle. He was in the hospital and would probably never come out again. She burst in to tears. I remember that day so clearly because it was when it began. It was the day I moved in with my grandmother.
Apparently there had been some agreement saying that if anything happened, I would move in with my grandmother. Her house was nice. Porcelain decorated the walls and it always smelled of fresh mochi. I was actually excited to live with her. Within a few days, my opinion of her completely changed. She began yelling at me almost every time she saw me. Sometimes, she would go so far to hit me. I did whatever I could to get away from her. I begged my aunt to take me back. But nothing changed. I was stuck with her.
I finally managed to come up with a way to avoid her. I spent as much time as I could away from the house, and when I was home, I would lock myself in my room and play dating sims. It was a simple plan, but it was successful. I guess it is all thanks to those hours locked in my room that I received the title, "The Goddess of Conquest".
I glanced to my right and spotted Katsuragi dangling from Elsie's pink scarf. The two of them flew away. "Katsuragi! Elsie! Wait!" I exclaimed. Katsuragi's eyes caught mine and a look of surprise hit his face. He said something to Elsie and the two of them flew off even faster.
I went home and locked myself in my room as usual. Outside of my window I spotted Elsie and Katsuragi tip-toeing down the street. I considered sneaking out the window, but decided it was not worth it. Plus, I could almost guarantee that the next day would be just as abnormal.