Ah

Ah

Ah

Tapping my throat with my left hand, I attempt to vocalise but despite my attempts, no sound comes out.

Staring instead at the blackness surrounding me, I try to squint in order to make out my surroundings but my eyes are unable to catch any sources of light.

Then, I move my right hand beneath me and feel something that is somehow both hard and soft, cool to the touch but still sparks a strange sense of warmth within me.

It's...comfortable.

No one to hear me, nothing to hear.

Nothing to see, no one to see me.

Instead, it is as if the darkness was cradling me within its embrace and I feel...safe.

Able to feel both everything and nothing...

It feels so much better...

But better than what?

A brief sensation pricks the back of my head like a tiny needle but I shake my head once and the feeling is gone as quick as it came.

There is no need to think, no need to feel any emotions, no need to be anything.

I can just be...nothing.

Raising my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around myself and curl myself into a foetal position.

The surface beneath me quavers as I do this and a black, gooey, oil-like substance surrounds my body but it doesn't matter. As it hugs me and pulls me into its arms, I simply do...

Nothing.


I didn't know how long I was falling for but as the darkness continued to drag me further and further down its long maw, I eventually found myself in a hallway that looked as if it had been dyed black by a large brush stroke.

Though I could make out the basic borders of the hallway, the singular, open door at the end was the only source of illumination in the otherwise caliginous hallway.

It was...too bright.

I close my eyes and lay back down on the floor made of black ink, hoping I could feel the cool nothingness once again but that light...

It was so bothersome!

Why couldn't it just leave me alone?

No...I wasn't going to allow the light to win.

Retreating as far back as I can, I crawl deeper into my own arms and tighten my eyes shut.

I could lie here forever and nothing would be able to make me move.

If it wasn't for that light...

There wasn't any choice.

Using my arms to push myself off the ground, I stand unsteadily, my legs quivering like a newborn foal.

The light is so blinding but I need to get closer...

I raise a hand to try and block it but as I continue to stumble down the black hallway, the closer I get the more the scorching light burns my skin.

It's so...painful.

Was it...becoming more intense?

My feet begin to pick up in speed at this realisation.

I have to hurry.

I don't care if I stumble and fall anymore.

Ah...it's painful...

It hurts...

It's nice...

My body begins to crumble.

Cracks form underneath my skin but I continue to approach the lone, open door.

One step more...

I reach for the door handle but I see my hand turn into ash before it can touch the obsidian handle.

My arms are gone...

My legs next...

It doesn't hurt.

When only my torso and head remain, I feel a push and I look behind me...

Only the sparkle of a pair of diamonds catches my eye and I fall through the door.

Closing my eyes, I wait for nothing to begin.

"Mika!"

I turn my head subconsciously when I heard a voice that evokes the vision of a knife as pure as ice which cuts through the air.

I look below my transparent body and see a woman with a face as beautiful as it is frigid. Her ice-like skin looks as though even the hottest rays of sun wouldn't be able to melt her perfect and effervescent facade. Following the gaze in her arctic blue eyes, I can see a tiny girl in a yellow dress, resembling that of a blooming sunflower but despite the girl's prim appearance the woman pays no mind.

"Gosh Mika, how long will you be a child? You're already four years old and there's no need to baby you any longer. It's time to grow up and behave as expected from someone of our family's stature...

Listen well Mika.

Everyone on this planet has a birthday, meaning you're just one of the billions of people perpetuating a ridiculous custom that celebrates something that has happened to billions of other people. What reason is there to celebrate such a mediocre, low-level achievement? Do you understand me? So stop bothering your father and I with this childish, commoner behaviour and if you want attention so badly then why don't you finally do something that deserves it. I heard recently that the Kitagawa's heir has already demonstrated fluency in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. It's quite remarkable considering his mother is one of the most dull-witted, simpleminded and vapid women I've ever met..."

The girl now begins to tighten her knuckles around the chair, tight enough they begin to turn white and I prepared myself.

Prepared myself for the screaming, the kicking, the crying.

...

...

Nothing?

I open my eyes wondering what has happened and I see the girl is holding her dress and clearly blinking back tears but she nods agreeably to the ice queen. Putting down the painting I had grabbed to shield myself from any potential flying objects, I floated a bit closer towards the girl who was subsequently picked up by her butler.

Why?

Why didn't she say anything?

I follow them closely until the butler finally leaves and turns off the lights in Mika's room. Though she tries to disguise her sobs in the blanket she has stuffed into her mouth, I can see her.

The pathetic girl who cries alone.


Unable to leave the girl's side, I somehow ended up watching this tiny sunflower continue to struggle, always alone in the dark.

Though I tried my best, she was never able to see nor hear me and so there was little I could do besides stand silently beside her.

I encouraged her to scream, to kick, to cry, to fight back!

To do something...anything...

But she could never hear me.

Why won't she listen to me?

I cursed this stupid girl everyday until I finally saw another sapling run to her side one day.

Knock Knock Knock

Mika was already alert by the first knock and I follow behind her as she cautiously walks towards the door that was never approached before.

Knock Knock Knock

Mika's trembling fingers as she lifts her arm towards the door handle don't escape my eyes...will she finally...finally break free from her cycle of solitude?

The second Mika's fingernails hit the door however, her arm drops.

No! Mika! I can't allow this...

Racing forward I urge with all my might, all my strength and all my will.

Mika, you can't let this chance pass!

So open the damn door!

Knock Knock Kn—

"Hi!"

The door swings open and a girl with platinum blonde hair and arrogant pink eyes appears.

"You wanna come over to my house?"


Though Mika didn't accept the offer that day...I couldn't help but feel a sense of pleasure as the girl came back over and over again despite Mika's attempts to push her away.

And it finally happened.

A strange sense of...pride blossomed within me as I saw it!

The slightest turn of her upper lip as she played soccer for the first time with someone besides her tutor.

I took a mental snapshot of the monumental moment and swore to save it as my most precious memory since I had become attached to Mika.

Swelling up like a balloon, the joy coursing through my body, if it could be considered a body, sent me straight into the stratosphere.

But of course, good things never seemed meant to last around Mika.

"Don't be arrogant Mika, not everything is about you. I'm here for some other business...and what exactly is this thing?"

"This is Serika Afuro, mother. She currently lives across the street from us...She was curious about my soccer skills so I wanted to show her and made a mistake. My apologies mother"

"What am I paying your soccer tutor for Mika? And what did I tell you about hanging out with rabble like this? I've told you before there's no need to associate yourself with people of no use to you"

"Mika, you'll be moving tomorrow. Everything should be prepared for you there so don't waste your time packing"

Hearing this maddening nonsense being spat out by the demon in the shape of a woman towards Mika, it felt as though endless thorns were stabbing my heart.

Mika! Do something! Say something back! You can't let it end like this!

I pleaded and beseeched Mika to defy her mother but this time...I am unable to do anything.

Why?

I look upwards towards the sky wondering if there are any gods to hear my prayers.

Why won't they answer?

All I want...is for Mika to be happy.


Another sapling comes but the expectation in Mika's eyes has died long ago.

These days when I look into her eyes, I can only see a soulless doll that moves at the whims of her master.

And though I cry for her every night...my tears are not magic.

I cannot save the girl whose body slowly turns to wood.


"Don't you know crying is an egregious waste of energy Mr. Kitagawa? I would ask that you stop immediately and remove yourself from my family's property." Mika says in a hollow voice as she hands a handkerchief towards the boy with ultramarine blue hair.

Startled by her words, I can see the boy's legs fly about as he runs out from the towering pine tree that is at the back of the Takinami estate.

He rubs his eyes with his sleeve with a singular motion and lowers his head to hide his face.

"I–I wasn't crying..." but the tiny boy isn't able to finish and he breaks down into tears once again, and I can see a crack in Mika's statuesque facade.

Bending down beside him as the two sit on the roots of the solid tree, Mika lets out a deep sigh as she dabs at the corners of the boy's eyes with a lifeless expression in her eyes.

"There. There. There. There." Mika repeats mechanically, in perfectly timed three second intervals.

"I'm not a baby!" the boy manages to sniffle out in a huff, his cheeks flushed a tomato red as Mika continues to dab at his face with a rough hand.

"Okay." Mika responds in a deadpan voice, but continues to wipe his cheeks until all traces of the boy's crying are gone besides his reddened eyes.

"If you're done now, you may leave."

Getting up as she says this, Mika brushes the grass from her dress and walks away from the tree at a brisk pace, not looking back once.

I hesitantly take one last look at the child whose face is still buried in his knees but feeling myself pulled back towards Mika's retreating figure, I allow myself to be whisked back towards the house.


"I apologise for showing you something unsightly, Takinami-san..."

The boy with hair that shines like lapis lazuli has appeared once more in front of Mika, this time with a stiff expression. His fingers are wiggling like worms burrowing back into the ground after a night's rain around a familiar handkerchief which he extends forward.

"You're still a child, Kitagawa-san. It's understandable that you would be unable to retain full control of your faculties at every moment. I'll simply act as though it never happened going forwards so if that's all you came here to say then you can leave." Mika says with a dismissive flick of her wrist, though she accepts the pristine handkerchief back with her other hand.

Her words however...enrage me.

Mika can show such grace to someone else but isn't even able to demand a single wish for herself?

My fists tighten into tight balls but I'm forced to swallow my anger as Mika once again retreats from the large pine tree that straddles the border between the Takinami and Kitagawa estates.


"Again Mr. Kitagawa? Or should I say Mr. Takinami considering how often I find you on our estate."

The boy doesn't respond and he remains rooted to the bottom of the pine tree as if determined to become one with the tree.

Taking out the handkerchief that she had taken back from the boy, Mika stops for a moment as if thinking.

Then, scrunching the handkerchief into a ball, Mika begins scrubbing at his face as if trying to clean a dirty surface and the boy lets out a startled yelp.

"Ouch! What are you doing?"

"You're not crying anymore." Mika comments casually and she throws the handkerchief into his face as she sits down beneath the tree.

"You're...the worst." the boy complains as he lifts the handkerchief off his face and sits beside her.

"So I've been told."

"..."

The boy is clearly taken aback by the frank reply and he tries to back pedal immediately, though Mika shows no sign of offence.

"You're not that bad..." is the best he can manage to come up with and I quell the urge to shake him by the throat.

This brat...despite the obvious generosity Mika is showing him, that's the best he can come up with?

Mika on the other hand pays no mind despite my angry clamouring in the background and she takes a careful look at the boy beside her.

"Are you...okay?"

"..."

Surprised by the question, it looks as though tears are beginning to form in the boy's eyes again but he blinks them away and instead buries his head into his arms.

"I...miss my mom."

"Is Lady Kitagawa away from home?" Mika asks with a puzzled expression on her face but the boy remains silent.

"I..."

Mika opens her mouth to begin speaking but she quickly closes it, with a look in her eyes that is familiar to me.

A look of self-restraint.

It's too late however and the boy is already looking at her with an expectant look in his eyes.

Looking towards the tree so she doesn't have to look at him directly while she speaks, Mika admits in a quiet voice.

"I miss my mother too."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then what do you do?" the boy asks curiously while moving his body up the tree so he can look at Mika while they converse.

"I do...other things I suppose." Mika tries to brush off an answer but the boy persists and continues to pester her.

"Like what?"

"..."

Mika's eyes drift to the corner of the garden where a soccer ball is swaying slightly with the breeze and I can see the image of two young girls with black and platinum blonde hair, playing together giddily in the grass...

"Do you know how to play soccer Mr. Kitagawa?"

The boy shakes his head and Mika brushes her hair out of her face while she blinks her amethyst eyes slowly.

"I'll teach you then."


"Take this! My strongest shoot...'Dragon Genesis'!" the boy shouts while a faintest wisp of a blue dragon appears behind the ball. Moving towards it with a single step, Mika stops the ball easily with one tap from her right foot before it can hit the net.

"Weak as usual, Tatsunori. Are you even trying?" Mika smirks with a domineering expression that causes Tatsunori to growl disgruntledly.

"I'll definitely beat you one day! You just wait and see!" Tatsunori says with a huff as he lies down on the sunlit grass.

"I have doubts but I'll entertain the possibility."

"You never take me seriously..."Tatsunori grumbles with dissatisfaction while Mika dribbles the ball over and sits down with it.

"Of course I do Mr. Kitagawa." Mika says while brushing the grass off his knees with her handkerchief.

Bristling at the contact, Tatsunori hisses and pushes her hand away.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about...I'm not a baby, Mika! This is the 53rd time I'm telling you!"

"Mmhmm." Mika hums with a clear look of doubt in her eyes.

"Hey! I saw that, Mika!" Tatsunori jumps up while pointing at her face causing Mika to rotate her body so he couldn't see her.

As I watch Tatsunori continue to chase around Mika in circles as the two children fill the garden with their laughter, I can't help but feel something terrible will go wrong any moment now...

"Mika, explain the current situation." an icy voice demands, lowering the temperature in the sunny garden immediately to sub zero degrees.

"Mother!"

"Yes, that is my blood relation to you but that fails to explain what I'm looking at Mika."

"...This is Tatsunori Kitagawa, mother. I invited him over for soccer practice and we had just concluded when you arrived..."

"Hello, Kuroha-san. I'm Tatsunori Kitagawa, my mother always speaks highly of you." Tatsunori follows up with a proper, 90 degree bow.

Staring at the two children coldly, Sumino's lips do not move as the two children start to shiver from the pressure.

Finally her gaze breaks, and the two let out a sigh of relief loud enough that Sumino can easily hear though she shows no signs of it.

"I see...Mika...it's a pleasant surprise to see you using your brain for once. I suppose our lessons haven't been a complete waste of time after all."

"And as for you...tell you mother, Kitagawa-san, that I send my regards. Now if you'll excuse me."

It looks as though Mika is as surprised as I am that the devil herself had nothing to say today. Because the moment her mother entered the mansion, Mika collapsed on the field and put her cheeks to her face to cool herself down.

"Mika?"

"Mika?" Tatsunori repeats himself when Mika doesn't respond but she stands up abruptly and clasps his hands.

"You'll come over again tomorrow, right Tatsunori?"

"Uhmmm, sure."

Tatsunori shuffles back uncomfortably, clearly unused to Mika's amicable mood as a peaceful smile appears on her face.

"Since you said so, I'll hold you to that then Tatsunori." Mika yells cheerfully as she runs back inside leaving Tatsunori alone with the soccer ball at his feet.


Though I'm hesitant...as the months pass, the life in Mika's eyes wash away my fears and doubts.

"Still not good enough Tatsunori!" Mika's voice chimes out as she dribbles the ball easily past the boy and taps it into the miniature net.

"O-One...One more time!" Tatsunori pants heavily, gasping for breath between each word.

Mika walks over as he finishes speaking however and with a light poke manages to knock him to the ground.

"That's enough for today, I'll go get some water so just rest."

Rushing inside to get some glasses, Mika returns in a flash, her long braids bouncing behind her like flowing ribbons.

"Cold!" Tatsunori yelps, practically jumping out of his skin as he feels a cool glass touch the back of his neck.

"Drink."

Taking the glass from Mika's hands sullenly, Tatsunori looks at her with a wary side gaze that I haven't seen before. Not taking a single sip, he instead spins the glass cup in his hand, making a vortex of water in the cup which he stares at pensively.

"Am I...really so weak?" he half whispers into the cup, though Mika hears him easily.

"Yes." she answers simply while raising her own cup to her mouth and holding the bottom with her other hand.

"Then what am I supposed to do to get stronger? What does being strong even mean? I don't...want to be a weak person anymore." Tatsunori began shouting but ended in a faint murmur.

"That's a difficult question..." Mika answers calmly while putting her cup down onto the tray in front of her, by their feet.

"Do you know one of the reasons my mother hates football so much is because of the lack of practical skills one can acquire from such a sport that would be useful in the business world, Tatsunori?"

"..."

"But do you know what my father told her? That what sports like football can offer is something you can't acquire anywhere else..."

Tapping her head with her index finger, Mika looks at him unblinkingly as she parts her lips smoothly.

"Mental fortitude."

"Having the strength to rise to the top of the world...I suppose having the ability to do that would mean you're quite strong."

"I suppose that's too much to even think about for someone like you though." Mika says with soft laughter and an amused look in her eyes.

"What?! No...I'll definitely do it!" Tatsunori shouts back while jumping to his feet.

"I'm going to be the best striker in the world, just you wait! I'm going to make everyone bow to me then! Even you'll have to admit I'm the best!" Tatsunori swears vengefully, which makes Mika laugh even harder.

"Do your best then, Tatsunori..."

As I look at the two children arguing playfully in front of me, my heart softens seeing the jovial look on Mika's face but...

I knew I shouldn't have ignored my instincts.


"Tatsunori? Why did you call me over? You know I'm not free until—"

"I'm leaving."

"Where? When are you coming back?"

"I-I'm not coming back..."

"What?! What are you talking about? Explain yourself!"

Mika's eyes tremble in their sockets but she restrains herself as she stares at the tiny boy in front of her whose tears are dripping down his face like heavy rain.

"Wait here."

As I follow Mika back across to her side of the garden and into the house, I see her rush to her room and grab the only gift her father ever gave to her directly.

Running back outside, Mika puts the blue dragon doll into his hands firmly while explaining, "The Blue Dragon is a symbol of strength and courage and though he is known as a ferocious warrior who makes even the mightiest rulers bow to his will, he is also the protector of the weak...".

"I don't need some stupid doll, I'm not a kid." Tatsunori mutters sulkily, sinking low into his arms.

"First of all, you are currently ten years old so by all accounts you are a child. And second Mr. Kitagawa, dolls aren't valuable for what they are, it's for what they represent. For most...it's memories...but for you...you need to make an oath. An oath that you're going to be just as strong as the Blue Dragon...no...stronger...okay?"

"All right...I promise you I—"

"No...not to me...it needs to be to yourself. You have to do it for you." Mika corrects him quickly, while looking back over her shoulder.

Just then, as if on cue, adults could be heard shouting closer and closer...

"Ojou-sama! Ojou-sama!"

Casting a downward gaze, Mika gives him one last unreadable look before standing back up and dusting off her small dress.

"I'm going now...if we meet again...I hope it's on the field next time Tatsunori."

Leaving Tatsunori behind, we cross the property lines and Mika bows her head at a 45 degree angle to her tutor and the other workers who were searching for her.

"I apologise for the trouble everyone. I forgot something outside and wished to retrieve it before the rain started."

"It's alright, Ojou-sama but it's important to be punctual for your appointments in the future. I hope you'll keep this in mind."

"Of course." Mika answers while keeping her head down.

Waiting until they are all in front of her, Mika finally lifts her head and I can see a final tear streak across her face which she wipes away before it can reach her chin.

I knew it...

Serika...Tatsunori...

They're all too weak...

In the end, I'm the only one who can protect Mika.

I'm the only one who can love Mika.

Only me.


Two Years Later, Raimon Elementary

"Nice to meet you! I'm Sato Hina! You can just call me Hina-chan though!" an energetic girl with brown pigtails attempts to whisper as the two sit beside each other.

"I haven't seen you around before! You must be good at soccer if the coach is putting you on the first string right away! If you have any questions though, feel free to ask me! I've been on the team since Year 4 so I pretty much know everything there is to know, not to brag." the girl continues, not even attempting to whisper by this point.

"..."

Remaining silent, Mika continues to stare straightforward with her back at a perfect 180 degrees, facing the coach as he introduces the new members of the team for the school year.

"Kuroha-chan, Sato-chan! Quiet down, you'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later!"

Eyes bulging, Hina puts both of her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from speaking anymore while staring unabashedly at Mika.


"You're Mika Kuroha? That girl everyone is calling the Demon Queen? That's crazy, you seem so nice! Don't worry about those rumours, once everyone sees who you really are, they'll all die down right away. So you can just ignore them, people love to talk about anything these days." Hina comments casually as the two girls continue to run laps around the field, far ahead of the others.

"..."

"You sure don't talk much though, do you? Sorry? Are you mute?"

"If you have the energy to speak Sato-san then you're not trying hard enough."

"Wow your voice sure is pretty, you should speak more often!"

Tch

What a stupid girl...did she think she could get closer to my Mika just with a little bit of flattery?

There's no way someone like Mika would fall for those tricks...is what I thought but that urchin was more persistent than I had thought.


"Did you see? Did you see? Did you see?" Hina asks while shoving her phone into Mika's face.

"Raimon's Dual Aces..." Mika reads aloud while Hina squeals happily on the club room floor.

"We're like...famous!"

"And this is just the beginning! Once we enter , we'll win Holy Road too and then after that the FFI and we'll be on the road to the Pro League!"

"I think you're skipping a few steps..." Mika says with a dour look, though her voice didn't sound as terrible as the first day she had met Hina.

Hina paid no mind, used to Mika's cynical tone and continued while holding her phone to her heart.

"We're unstoppable! As long as we're together, no one can beat us! Raimon's Dual Aces..."

But just as I predicted...

It wasn't long before even Hina would turn her back to Mika...just as everyone else did before her.


"Raimon's Demon Queen...Raimon's Ace Striker...Prodigal Striker...Next to follow in Tsurugi Kyousuke's footsteps..." Hina reads quietly, her voice bearing a different tone than the usual that Mika was used to.

"Hina-chan?" Mika asks, cocking her head to the side with worry in her voice.

In the past year they had been together, as members of the Raimon Elementary soccer team she had never seen Hina so perturbed before.

Putting her bag down, she attempts to walk closer towards the other girl but Hina shoves her and begins to scream hysterically at her while hiding her face in her hands.

"Why is it always you?! It's always you...Why do you have to have everything?"

"What are you–" Mika begins but Hina doesn't allow her to speak.

"I hate...I really hate standing beside you. I hate being compared to you...I hate being in your shadow and most of all...I hate the me I become when I'm with you! What am I supposed to do when you have everything?! Just be your cheerleader for the rest of my life?"

"It's not fair!" Hina screams while beginning to sob uncontrollably, causing Mika's eyes to widen in shock.

Mika had never seen Hina act like this before so while it was sudden to her, to me who had never trusted Hina in the first place, Hina was finally showing her true colours.

"Hina-chan...I'm sorry–"

"Don't apologise! It'll only make me feel worse...I'm the one who should be sorry to you but..."

"But when I'm with you... it feels like I'll never be able to become the main character of my own story. I'll never be anything more than a side character...You're so pretty...you're popular at school, your family is rich...you always do well on exams...and you're even better than me at soccer! And even though I tell myself that it's not your fault...Whenever I'm with you, it's like... it's like all the happiness is sucked out of me!"

"I'll never be more than some inferior to you, the perfect being! The blessed Mika Kuroha! The perfect Mika Kuroha! If you can do everything I can do but better then why am I even here?"

"It would be easier if I could hate you...but now that I know how nice you are, what am I supposed to do with all this hate I feel?"

"I just...I just really hate myself when I'm with you...I'm so afraid that if I stay by your side any longer I'll really become a demon..."

I can see Mika standing speechless as she tries to compute the best possible speaking line for the situation at hand but the two are interrupted by a voice calling out to them from outside.

"Kuroha-chan! Sato-chan! Are you two ready? We're all waiting for you!"

"Coming Coach..." Hina answers back while pushing past Mika who follows behind with a dark look in her eyes.

Still in a stupor, Mika stands motionlessly on the field as I float beside her, attempting to wrap my arms around her comfortingly.

"Kuroha-chan! What are you doing! The game has started!" a voice calls out in the distance but only Mika and I are what matters right now.

"I told you Mika...I'm the only one who loves you...I'm the only one who understands you and I'm the only one who will always be by your side."

"So just leave everything to me...I'll take care of everything difficult for you. As long as I'm here, you'll never be burdened by anything because I can bear everything for you. You can laugh without a care in the world, do everything you want to do, and be happy...because I'll protect you."

"Really?"

I subconsciously suck in my breath, though I'm unable to breathe anyway.

Was Mika really speaking to me?

Could she...finally see me?

"You'll...really let me be happy?" Mika asks with a desperate gaze in her eyes, the longing to escape and be free, palpable to the me who has followed her since she was a toddler.

"Of course." I answer readily, having waited for this moment for my entire life.

"Okay then."

Accepting my hug, Mika closes her eyes and when she reopens them her amethyst irises have been replaced by a heterochromatic blood red and arctic blue set of eyes.

"Let's run wild, Mika."


[GOALLLL! Mika Kuroha continues to terrorise the field, scoring her tenth goal of the match within only the first half! With this level of talent, it seems like she'll be a guaranteed pick for Raimon's team next year!]

"What...What just happened." Mika mutters while covering her right eye with her hand.

"Y-You're a demon! I knew it!" Hina screams with a terrified look in her quivering eyes.

"That's what you always wanted to do, right Mika? When we're on the field, you're the only one that matters! No one else!" I exclaim proudly, as I look at the prone bodies of the other children who were run down by our hissatsus.

"No...No...this isn't right...this isn't what I wanted..." Mika cries desperately to herself but I wrap my arms around her and assure her.

"This is what you wanted, Mika. It's what you've always wanted to do. Nobody else matters to us, the only person's happiness that should matter in this terrible world is yours."

"No, I've never wanted that!" Mika screams at me but I shake my head.

"Really? You've never thought that for a moment? Because if that was the case then I wouldn't exist right? Because...I'm you."

Finally acknowledging my existence, my body materialises fully and Mika can finally see me for who I truly am.

With pitch-black hair, a long and lithe body, sharp eyes and an authoritative presence we are identical save for the colour of our irises.

"Y-You're not me...No...you're just...a demon!" Mika screams but she is unable to escape my embrace...

Because I'm the only one who loves her.


Present Day, Mount Gongga, China

"What are we doing here Aki..." Mika asks while sitting at the corner of our mind.

"How should I know? You're the one who wanted to come here."

"Me?"

"I just do whatever you want to do Mika" I reply while shrugging our shoulders, as I continue to dribbble the sole soccer ball we brought with us.

"What I want to do..." Mika asks while picking at her lip with her fingernails.

Nodding our head, I continue to dribble in circles around the rocky paths that are covered in snow and ice.

"You're the only person that matters to me Mika...if you want to stay here forever then I'll stay with you and if you want to return to Japan and play soccer then I'll help you...whatever you wish for, I can make it a reality." I promise whole-heartedly while Mika pauses hearing my sweet temptation.

The moment I mention soccer however, I can see Mika's thoughts as clear as day and the image of a boy with raven-black hair and equally black eyes appears.

"While you stand proud as a paradigm of success...To us...You are a monument to our failure"

That damn Yuka Fukunaga...I should've crushed him before he had the chance to fill Mika's mind with his venomous words.

But that isn't what's important right now.

"Mika?" I ask with concern but she refuses to leave the corner of our mind.

"I'm not going back Aki...I want to...stay here."

"If that's what you want."


It was cute how wary Mika was of me initially but that changed quickly as she realised I was the only one she could talk to as the months went by.

"I know you want to play." I tell her knowingly as I dribble higher and higher up the mountain, leaving our cave headquarters behind us.

After all, who in this world knows Mika better than I?

"I don't." Mika lies through her teeth easily, both of us knowing the truth.

"There's no one here, that's why you wanted to come here, right Mika? No one to see us and no one to care about us. You can finally do whatever you want...and you really won't take the opportunity?" I goad, knowing she'll have to give in to her desires eventually.

"I..."

"Just one kick?" I ask slyly, a serpentine gaze in my eyes that paralyses Mika completely.

Hah...

Nodding her head, Mika steps forward from the shadows and I close my eyes feeling her take over, satisfied that Mika is finally taking a step forward.


Gasping, Mika blinked her eyes disorientedly as she scanned the area.

She had mostly been viewing it from Aki's perspective so the white mountains were a bit intimidating to see up close but strangely the ball beside her feet demanded more attention from her.

It felt so long since had last touched a ball because the last time she had...

She had to listen to Yuka's desperate curses...

"Doing whatever you please while you stomped all over the efforts and dreams of your opponents..."

"Everything that I dreamed of...you could do oh so easily, couldn't you Kuroha-san? But you didn't even want to play soccer in the first place!

It may have been true at first but it wasn't anymore!

Though she had tried to deny it, soccer had always been her sole solace but...

Could she really continue to play if it meant sacrificing the dreams of others for her own enjoyment?

She could live without soccer, right?

Could she?

If Aki was truly a figment of her ego that represented her inner desires then it seemed that deep within her heart, there was a part of her that was yearning to forget everything and play soccer..freely...without any restraints...

So could she really deny this call forever?

The moment her heart began to waver however, Hina's words came crashing down on her.

"I hate...I really hate standing beside you. I hate being compared to you...I hate being in your shadow and most of all...I hate the me I become when I'm with you!"

"Y-You're a demon!"

"I'm not a demon...I'm not a demon! No! I'm not!" Mika thought desperately to herself.

Was it inevitable that the gazes of everyone around her would turn to fear and hatred if she continued to play soccer?

Hina...Yuka...who would be next?

"If that was the case then...it would be better if I never played soccer again." Mika thought resolutely to herself, hardening her heart to the waves of desire that knocked at its door.

Mika had always lived her life suppressing her desires so what was one more?

Mika took in a deep breath through her nose.

One final kick to end it all.

Realising what Mika had decided, Aki attempted to wrest control back but Mika had already made her mind.

Goodbye...soccer.

Hitting the ball with enough force to break the sound barrier, Mika's body exploded backwards as she watched the only soccer ball she had brought with her race towards the peak of the mountain.

Her body felt lighter...she had made the right decision, Mika told herself as she turned her back to walk down the mountain.

"Mika! You idiot! Run!"

"Aki?"

Confused, Mika turned around quickly and her legs began to move before her head could even return to a front facing position.

Hearing the rumble of the mountain, as a large wave of ice stormed down the side and raced towards her, Mika ran with all her might. Her legs were moving so fast she was afraid she would lose control and trip down the mountain instead.

However, no matter how fast she was it was impossible to escape a natural disaster and as her body began to become suppressed under the onslaught of snow and rocks from the avalanche, Mika closed her eyes.

What a futile end...

"Mika!"

A familiar voice rang in her ears and she felt what she thought were fingers wrap around her own before everything became black.


Author's Note : Tried a DocX upload but it messes up my italics so I give up on formatting. Hopefully it's understandable. but Idk how works.