Chapter 31 The Caged Pink Camellia

The girl groaned. Her eyes had barely opened before she closed them shut and dragged the blanket over her head. It was warm, nice, and comforting. Nothing like most mornings.

She hated mornings. She'd always wake up tired, and thirsty, and cold, and needing to go to the bathroom, sometimes all at once. Eventually sleep would win out though, like it did at this moment when she closed her eyes and let herself drift into her dreams.

Dreams were nice. They were much better than her life while awake.

It was nice… until she remembered what happened last night.

The girl sat up and reached for her Soul Gem, only to find it wasn't there. She looked down at her hand and found that her ring was gone, likely taken by the people that captured her. The girl then felt her chest. No pain and a quick glance under the white kimono she now wore revealed an unblemished chest.

Also, someone had taken her training bra. Not that it mattered much currently, but it'd be nice to have.

She reached for her face, ready to secure her mask as was her habit. However rather than the cold comfort of the food she felt the bare skin of her cheeks.

Anyone could see her face now.

The girl quickly brought the blanket over her face once more.

She hadn't stopped wearing a mask ever since she had left her old home. Even when not transformed she had taken to wearing a regular mask that she had bought from a festival.

Only once she had confirmed, once again, that there was no one else in the room did she peek her head out.

She had been left in a basic tatami mat room for sleeping, though there was enough hanging furniture to judge that the owner of this house had money. The futon she had been sleeping in was clean, luscious, and comfortable. Even now she was tempted to bury her back inside and go back to sleep.

The door opened and light streamed into the room. The girl quickly brought her blanket back up and hid her face.

"You're awake," a voice she recognized as Nanaka's said.

"Where's my mask?" the girl asked.

A brief shuffling and then several other pairs of footsteps entered the room. Likely Nanaka's entire group. That only made the girl drag more of the blanket over her head. Even if they had seen her face already, it didn't mean she liked being exposed to them.

"Here," a voice the girl didn't quite recognize said.

The girl blindly reached out with her hand until she finally felt the familiar wood of her mask on her fingertips. She grabbed it, brought it under the blanket, and quickly put it on. Once it was secured to her face, the girl reluctantly pulled the blanket off her head.

She had been correct to assume that all four of Nanaka's group were in this room. Including the green haired one who had been the one to hand her the mask.

"I'm surprised you were wearing a mask even outside your transformation," the grey haired one said. "Name's Akira by the way."

"Why did you bring me here?" the masked girl asked. "And where's my Soul Gem?"

"It was part of your agreement," Meiyun replied. "As for your Soul Gem, it's somewhere safe. We didn't want to risk you running off just yet."

"Yea, you're part of our team now," Akira said. "Welcome to the gang!"

"Some welcome," the masked girl mumbled as she put a hand to her chest. Even if the wound was healed, memories of that cut were still fresh in her mind. As were the memories of the Magical Girl who had dealt that wound in the first place.

If that had been a Witch or even another Magical Girl, then she'd be dead. Her vengeance would've ended then.

"Sorry," the green-haired girl apologized. "Nanaka can be really scary when she gets serious. I healed you, but well you were unconscious for a while there... I'm Kako by the way."

"That fact that you forced her to go all out, even for a moment, is impressive," Meiyun commented.

"Still," Arika winced as she pointed to her chest. "Nanaka really wasn't holding back there. Thank god Magical Girls don't scar."

There would be no mark there at all, but the masked girl could still feel that pain of the cut in her chest and breasts. Not that there was much of a distinction between the two at the moment, but she'd probably grow there. Eventually. If she survived that long.

She looked down at where her ring would be. She was more than prepared to put her knife to her Soul gem once the time came. Better than becoming a Witch. And honestly tempting at the moment considering her current situation.

"So, what now?" the masked girl sighed. A deal was a deal and as much as she hated it, she wasn't going to go back on it. She wasn't a liar after all.

"Now you go home and recuperate." Nanaka finally spoke.

The masked girl finally turned to the one that had cut her down and saw that she was now wearing glasses.

Huh… those actually looked pretty good on her.

"We will call upon you when you are needed," Nanaka continued.

"Fine... Just give me my Soul Gem and let me know when you want to meet up again," the girl replied as she got up only to have her hand grabbed by Kako.

"Do you have a home?" Kako asked.

"Why are you asking?" the girl replied.

"I mean, your clothes were pretty dirty and we had to give you a good wash to get rid of the grime in your hair. Your pants are a bit short too and even your underwear had some holes in it."

Nanaka's gaze became steel and the masked girl shivered as she was intimately reminded of what happened last night.

"Tell us the truth," Nanaka demanded. "Do you live on the streets?"

"Yes," the girl was forced to answer. Lying was not an option, nor was staying silent at the moment. Doing either of those things would likely end up with a sword through her chest again. "B-but I've been like this for three years now! I can handle it."

She didn't actually steal the clothes, she hated stealing, but once in a while a Witch left behind a corpse or two in its labyrinth that was relatively intact. Corpses of kids around her age that happened to wear clothes that could fit her. Corpses that would disappear once the Witch was killed so there was no issue… acquiring some shirts, pants, and shoes for her to use.

Underwear was something a bit too… personal for her to take from a corpse though. Those she had to buy at a discount store with whatever money she could pick up from the corpses.

Once again, not stealing if they're dead and their bodies would disappear anyway.

"You are no longer on the streets," Nanaka said. "And I am not having you return there in your current condition. A flower should be allowed to bloom in the proper environment."

"Flower?" the masked girl asked. What was with Nanaka and her obsession over flowers? Even her attack names were flowers.

"You'll be staying with me," Nanaka replied. "It works out. This way you're also available for training."

"Training!?"

"I won't have a beautiful blade like yours sullied with such an ugly arrangement. You will learn under me as is the pride of the Kashin-Ryu."

"What is the Kashin-Ryu?" the masked girl asked. Nanaka kept on mentioning it. "Some sort of Kendo style?"

Nanaka pushed up her glasses before looking at the girl and smiled. "Flower Arrangement."

The girl blinked. "What?"

"Flower arrangement," Nanaka repeated. "You will learn how to properly present flowers."

"That's it? You aren't some sort of awesome swordsman trained by a cool ancient family?" the girl began shouting. She couldn't help raising her voice, it was just that crazy. "Not even a samurai or something on some cool quest? You just make flowers look pretty!?"

"Yes." Nanaka's gaze hardened once more. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"N-no," the masked girl stammered.

"Good," Nanaka smiled again. "Now tell us your name."

"My… name?" the masked girl asked. She didn't have one. Not since her old home was destroyed in that fire. Not since she had left her remaining family to protect them.

"We will need your name if you're going to work with us in the future. Unless you'd prefer me to give you one." Nanaka put a finger to her chin and pondered for a moment. "The Lily is both sweet and innocent. Perhaps that's what we should be calling you."

"No!" The masked girl quickly shot that down. There was no way she was going to let herself be called a flower. "I'm…" As she struggled to come up with a name her hand began touching the edge of her mask. "Kitsu."

"Kitsu?" Nanaka said doubtfully.

"Kitsu. My name is Kitsu," Kitsu replied.

Ren smiled at the gloves she now wore. Rika had picked them out when Ren had become self-conscious about the marks on her hand.

White cloth with shades of light blue. Pretty and comfortable, something Ren never would've thought to choose herself. They really were a wonderful gift.

"Let's make sure you don't scare off anyone thinking they're Yakuza symbols or something. They're going to be there since you accidentally used a permanent marker," Rika had said when Ren had lied to her about why the marks wouldn't go away.

It was a necessary lie… but it still made Ren feel guilty. She didn't like lying to Rika. Especially when she received a wonderful gift for it.

Unfortunately, it's necessary. Unless you want to explain to your friend why a Goddess is hovering around you, Ereshkigal's voice overpowered the low drone of her classmates.

I want to… I just need to be able to say it myself.

Do you really trust her that much?

I do… she saved me… she's a good person.

Well… I guess you should do your best to cherish her then.

Ren looked at her gloves again. She really would do her best to cherish them.

"New gloves, Isuzu?"

The smile fell off of Ren's face as she looked and saw one of her classmate's standing in front of her desk. A familiar face, one of the many that had bullied her previously before they became too busy with other things. Ren's permission slip for the class trip did disappear though recently… the same ones that this classmate had been in charge of.

Ah, the bullying was starting up again. Wasn't it?

"Are you copying Emiya now?" the classmate began to gesture toward the newly arrived transfer student that sat in front of Ren.

"No…" Ren replied. "They were… a gift."

"From your mom?"

"My… friend."

"This is the first I'm hearing about you having a friend," one of the girls said deprecatingly. "Well come on, tell me about her."

"I…" Ren struggled to find the words.

"Unless she doesn't exist and you're just making it up."

No! Rika did exist! And she was a good person!

"She…" Ren struggled to speak but once again found the words trapped in her throat, much to her frustration.

Do you want me to smite them? Never actually got a chance to do that to the living, but apparently it's all the craze for Gods in my time… Not that I would go around doing it willy nilly. Just the people bothering you.

No! I need… to do this… myself. Also killing is bad.

Alright… just be careful. Also you of all people would know that death isn't as bad as some people make it out to be.

"They look nice," the same girl commented before starting to tug on the glove's cloth. "Why don't I try them on? I'm sure they'll look great on me."

"No…" Ren replied as she pulled back.

"Come on!" The girl started to tug even harder, to the point that the marks on Ren's hand began to show halfway. "What is that? A tattoo? Is that what you're hiding?"

Where did I put that lance…?

"No!" Ren shouted as she pushed away the girl's hand and pulled the glove back onto her hand. "They're mine! A gift! I won't…" she took a deep breath, "let you take them away!"

It was the first time she had ever raised her voice in the class. By the Great Below, it was the first time she had ever raised her voice and it left the entire class wide eyed and staring.

The girl, initially shocked by Ren's reaction, quickly grew annoyed. "You know tattoos aren't allowed in this school. I could tell a teacher-"

"Back off."

Both Ren and the girl turned to Emiya in shock. Emiya normally acted aloof and kept to herself, she rarely got herself involved with others. Especially Ren.

"Back off," Emiya repeated. "She already told you no. She's got boundaries. Respect them."

"Emiya!" the girl protested. "But she-"

"Look, are you seriously going to make trouble over a pair of gloves?" Emiya asked. "Like if you want a pair, you can just buy some yourself. Don't need to start a fight over them. Unless you can't afford it, and you're just desperate to take them from someone else."

"That isn'- of course I can buy them," the girl said as she tried to match Emiya's glare.

Emiya simply crossed her arms and held her ground. Eventually the girl's composure fell apart. "I-it's not like I need them anyway. They're ugly, they suit you, Isuzu."

"They're not ugly," Ren growled. Say what you will about her own fashion sense, but don't say a damn thing about Rika's. "You don't know any better."

"Whatever."

The classmate finally went away and allowed Ren to collapse in her seat. She had barely said a few lines and was already exhausted.

Good job.

… Thanks.

Ren looked up at Emiya who was still standing in front of her.

"T-thank you," Ren said.

"Roof. After school."

Ren blinked. "What?"

"Roof," Emiya suddenly leaned in and growled. "After. School. Ends."

Whatever voice Ren had gained previously quickly faded away until all that remained was an intimidated whimper. "Ok…"

Ren had been more than prepared to go to the roof after classes had ended. What she hadn't been prepared for was Emiya grabbing her by the arm and quite literally dragging her there.

That was going to be hard to explain to the class… assuming that she could actually open her mouth to do so. Maybe it'd be better to just write them all a note…

Once they reached the rooftop, Emiya released Ren's hand and positioned herself between Ren and the door.

There was no escape at that point. Not unless Ren was willing to throw herself off a roof again. And honestly, that didn't seem so appealing anymore.

"Are you working with the Magius?" Emiya growled.

"Magius?" Ren asked.

"Magical Girl cult. Doing crazy stuff to save Magical Girls."

"I… don't know," Ren admitted.

"Then where did you get those Command Seals?"

"Command… Seals?" Ren asked.

"The marks on the back of your hand. Proof that you've got a Servant hiding somewhere."

"Servant?"

"Do you seriously have no idea what I'm talking about? Did your Servant not explain it to you?"

"No… not yet," Ren stared at her glove and then the one on Kyoko's hand. "You… have one too," she realized.

Emiya took a step forward only to have her way barred by a large double ended black and white lance with a circular hilt in its center. The tip of it was aimed precariously at the red-haired girl's neck.

"You should learn to act with more tact," Ereshkigal said. "Especially to the Master of one of my status."

Emiya's eyes grew wide as she stepped back.

It was weird though. It wasn't just all shock that Ren could see in Emiya's eyes. There was also a glint of recognition.

"Did you two… meet before?" Ren asked much to Ereshkigal's surprise.

"No… not personally," Emiya replied.

Suddenly a man appeared behind Kyoko and pulled her away from the spear. A man in red and black that Ren knew quite well.

"Archer…" Ren said.

"Wait, you know her?" Kyoko asked her Servant.

"Yes…" Archer said cautiously as his eyes focused on Ereshkigal. His eyes seemed to have a light of familiarity behind them. "Ren and I are well acquainted at this point. She wasn't a Master when we last met though, this must've happened quite recently."

"Is that why you seem so familiar to me?" Ereshkigal asked as she set her lance down. "I swear we've met before, but it wasn't me. Maybe… my Master or the body I inhabit?"

"Yea, Archer, could you explain why she looks like that girl from your memories?" Kyoko asked.

"Oh! So you do know the girl I'm currently residing in," Ereshkigal shouted excitedly.

"Psuedo-Servant," Archer sighed.

"Isn't that what you thought Ribbons was at first?" Kyoko asked.

"Yes." Archer replied.

"Huh… so we got an actual Goddess here," Kyoko mused.

"Th-that's," Ereshkigal blushed briefly before shaking her head, smiling smugly, and putting her hands to her side. "That's right! I am the Queen of the Great Below! The Goddess of the Netherworld, Ereshkigal!"

"I'm well aware," Archer sighed.

"Now…" suddenly, all of Ereshkigal's bluster went away and she began to fidget on her feet, "Could you tell me about you? It's for the… girl whose body I'm currently inhabiting. I'm just satisfying her curiosity."

"That's-… it's not that important. Who I used to be no longer matters," Archer replied before crossing his arms.

Ereshkigal stared at him pensively for a few moments before sighing. "Fine. If you don't wish to say anything. Let's just focus on the present then. What shall we do now then?"

"Archer and I," Emiya answered for him, "Are going back to Kazamino soon. You two can do whatever it is you want here."

"You're… leaving?" Ren asked.

"Yea exchange program is ending in a week. We're going straight back to Kazamino and staying there… You should also get out of here while you can," Kyoko suggested.

"Why?" Ren asked.

"There's this cult that's recruiting Magical Girls and summoning Shadow Servants to do some… shady things. It's going to get real dangerous here soon, so you should get out while you can. They seem to be very interested in Masters and Servants in general."

"The… Magius?" Ren asked.

"Yea," Emiya confirmed. "We dealt with them. Almost died in the process. It ain't worth sticking around here anymore. Let someone else deal with whatever's going on here."

Ren began to shuffle on her feet. She appreciated that Emiya had gone out of her way to warn her, but there was no way she was going to leave her home now. No way that she was going to leave Rika. "Thank you… but I want to stay."

Emiya shook her head. "Your funeral. Just… keep standing up for yourself like you did back there. Most of the kids back there are spineless, be a little tough and they'll back off."

"So, you were trying to help… back there," Ren commented.

Kyoko snorted. "I just think there's better things to do than pick on the weak. If you're going to start a fight, do it with someone that can throw a punch back. It's more fun that way."

"I was weak… I still am," Ren admitted. "But… I want to get stronger."

"That's a good attitude," Kyoko said begrudgingly. "Make sure to keep it. Then maybe you'll be interesting enough to talk to."

Ren nodded. "Thank you… Kyoko."

"You're welcome… Ren."

I'm surprised… you're fine with Archer leaving, Ren commented to Ereshkigal as they made their way home. Didn't you want to learn more about him?

A man like that… there's no point in pushing him into something that will make him uncomfortable. Trust me, I know… besides I might've taken a look at their address in the school's registrar.

You did what?

Kazamino isn't that far away. It wouldn't take much time to just drop by whenever we wanted.

Unannounced?

That's the surprise.

It was rude and all to drop in on someone unannounced, but Ren couldn't help smiling lightly at Ereshkigal's excitement.

He's a good man... He saved me when I threw myself off the roof for the first time.

So, he's the reason you ended up with me?

… That might've also been Rika.

Ren stopped walking as a white wisp suddenly floated by her. She watched as it made its way over the railing and into a nearby river.

What was-

A wayward Wraith. Souls of the dead that remain attached to this world due to past grudges, regrets, and other unfinished business they had in life. I said that you'd be sensitive to these things from now on.

Is it dangerous?

Normally they can't interfere much with the physical world and their existence will degrade with time since they are no longer bound to this world. However, they can sustain themselves if they consume the souls and minds of people to convert into energy. Also, the boundary of this world is quite thin… who knows how much damage a single spirit could cause if it accumulates enough energy or starts to gather with others?

What should we do then?

My job as the Goddess of the Underworld. You shall act as my assistant.

Assistant?

Follow it!

"Ok," Ren said as she carefully got over the railing and walked carefully down toward the river. The spirit eventually stopped right next to the riverbank… It didn't take her long to figure out its origin.

Drowning victim. Common enough, no matter what era you're in. This one probably isn't going to drag you in with it at least.

Probably!?

Ereshkigal appeared next to Ren, handed her a small cage, and gestured toward the spirit. "Now put it in here."

"What?" Ren asked.

"Remember how I said you're basically on the edge of the boundary. That means you can perceive and interact with spirits like these. It also makes you vulnerable to their influence, but that's what I'm here for. Plus, most spirits won't pick a fight now that I've given you a bit of my authority."

"So… you want me… to capture it?" Ren asked.

"Yes… I prefer guiding spirits peacefully, but sometimes force or control is necessary. The point is to only apply whatever force is needed to get it in, nothing more," the Goddess looked at the spirit wistfully. "The dead deserve to rest, no matter what they did in life or what duties that still need to be completed."

"Ereshkigal…"

The Goddess turned back to Ren and frowned. "Now go ahead. The dead shouldn't be kept waiting."

"Ok," Ren nodded before making her way toward the spirit. She didn't make a single sound as she moved, a result of years of practice sneaking out of her house at night in order to take her walks. She was able to get within arm's reach of it before it finally noticed her presence and seemed to face its head toward her.

It began to back away… in fear and regret.

Ren could see it. It's death. The boy it once was, who had fallen in trying to pick up a ball he had dropped. Whose body was found later that day. He wanted to play. He wanted to go back to his family.

Tears gathered in Ren's eyes.

But he couldn't do that anymore. All that she could do was guide him from his pain.

Rather than bring the cage forward, she held out a hand and offered it to the spirit. Rather than steel, she offered it the warmth and comfort of the living.

It moved forward slightly and then back, before slowly inching its way toward her hand. Eventually it laid against her hand, and she could feel a bit of warmth leave her body. The spirit only took a little bit and made its way to the cage once it had been comforted by the warmth she provided.

"I would not suggest doing that in the future," Ereshkigal commented as Ren made her way back to the Goddess. "You were lucky this spirit didn't take advantage of your generosity. Exposing your body like that, could've risked a more aggressive wraith draining you completely or even taking over. You don't exactly have a Goddess's body to work with."

"I know…" Ren replied. "But… I don't regret it... He just wanted… someone to touch him… one last time."

Ereshkigal smiled slightly as she took the cage from Ren's hand. "Well… that kindness isn't so bad either. Just be a bit more careful in the future." The Goddess held the cage up and muttered a few words before both the cage and spirit dissolved into motes of light. "There. It's passed on. Sent to the afterlife."

"It was… pretty," Ren said as she reached for the remaining drops of light before they too faded from her hand.

The Goddess blushed before frowning and shaking her head. "It's been a long time since someone praised my duty like that. Most find death and things that associate with it… distasteful."

Ren could understand that… people didn't really like to talk about death that much. And even she was afraid of dying now that she had something to live for. But that didn't mean death was bad. It didn't mean that the person watching over it was bad.

"You're… a good person," Ren eventually replied. The bashful if not grateful look the Goddess had given her told her that she had spoken the right words.

"Well… let's go back to your home then," Ereshkigal said as she disappeared into the air. And prepare for our little visit to Kazamino.