"Go away, Akane."
11th of January, 10:00 pm, Aqua's hideout
"Please go away, Akane. You can't stop this." Aqua said, now fully facing her, just a few steps away. The incense might've been blown out by the strong gust of wind, yet the lone candle in the middle of the room stood strong, whipping wildly back and forth while trying its dearest not to extinguish and dip the room into utter darkness.
"You have been alone for more than enough time, Aqua. I understand you, I know everything. Please… Let me help you, Aqua." Akane said as she took one resolved step into the room, closing the door behind her with a loud thud.
Aqua tumbled a single step back, stepping into his ritual circle. "You don't understand it, you don't understand anything, Akane."
"Then tell me everything I need to know. I will listen to you for as long as it takes," Akane said, "I will try to understand for as long as it takes, and if my trying is not good enough… Then please take me anyway."
Aqua backed up until he couldn't back up any further. When he turned around to see what blocked his path, he saw Tera smiling at him. "Do you really plan on letting this girl ruin it all? Everything you've worked for this hard?" Tera whispered.
"N-No… But what should I do?" Aqua asked, his voice small compared to the determined voice he had during the recitation of the ritual.
"Simple…" Tera said, a slight crack in his kind voice, "Kill that bitch."
"B-But I don't want to," Aqua whimpered while pushing himself away from Tera, tumbling back towards Akane. He came to a halt right in between the two of them, panickedly looking back and forth between them. "There must be another way."
"Aqua…" Akane said as she raised her hand. She wanted to touch his cheek; give him a bit of comfort, yet she hesitated. "He is talking to you, isn't he? Whatever he is saying. Don't listen to his words, they are all lies. I can prove it if you just let me."
"There is none." Tera's voice was louder than ever before as he also raised his hand towards Aqua. "You have to make sacrifices if you want to achieve your dreams."
"I am sacrificing my own life. But she has nothing to do with this. She isn't my sacrifice." Aqua looked around the room, his eyes darting back and forth between Tera and Akane.
"She is responsible for her own actions," Tera growled as he stepped closer to Aqua; his hand almost touching his face now. "It's not your fault if she dies because of those."
"Yes, it is." Aqua took a step away from Tera, towards Akane. The half-rotten wood creaked beneath his weight, sending a jolt of electricity through his body.
"Aqua, what is he telling you. Snap out of it already. You have to come back to your senses." Akane placed her hands on Aqua's cheeks. Her freezing hands on his burning cheeks grounded him at least a bit.
"Now! Do it, kill her." Tera screeched, stepping on the same spot of rotten wood Aqua had stepped on, yet the spot remained perfectly silent as he did.
"NO! I don't want that." Aqua shouted as his eyes locked with Akane's, who was just staring at him, her face mere inches away from his.
"Aqua… please forgive me for this…" Akane mumbled as small tears began to form in the corners of her dark blue eyes, looking like faraway galaxies in the night sky.
"Choose, now! It is either her or your mother." Tera screamed through the room. To Aqua, the house felt like it shook to its very core, like Tera's screams held the power to let a pocket magnitude 6 earthquake ensue.
"Aqua… I love you." Akane said, determined before quickly leaning in. Their lips met in a kiss; she used her tongue to gently pry his lips open with ease, while holding his head in place with her hands. She let her tongue glide over every tooth of his, carefully examining all of them while she could hear her own heartbeat all the way up in her head. She didn't avert her gaze for even a second. Instead, she stared deep into his lost eyes.
When she finally pulled back again to catch her breath, a hint of confusion crossed her face. Their mouths were still connected by a string of saliva as Akane noticed a faint stain of blood right on Aqua's lips.
Her vision turned blurry as she looked down between her own and Aqua's body. The flickering candlelight provided just barely enough light for her brain to comprehend what was going on. A knife; she could only see its hint, the rest of it was submerged deep within her abdomen. She looked back up, her eyes flickering with sadness and an underlying hint of understanding as the blood began to flow down the edges of her mouth. She attempted to reach for Aqua's shoulders for support, but he just took a step back, making her only grab the thin air.
The knife left her body with a sickening wet crunch; a wet crunch which was soon overshadowed by the noise of her blood being squirted all over the floor. Her head spun as she began to tumble through the room, crashing against the walls. A loud thud echoed as she hit the door. In one last desperate attempt, she tried to reach for the handle, yet she was too weak to raise her arm high enough. Her legs gave out a moment later, sending her sliding down towards the floor.
11th of January, 10:00 pm, 100 EMOJI! Productions' studio
"Killing you would solve two problems, and I could have a fun time afterwards…"
Disgusting… But exactly what I needed.
Kana waited for a moment. The audience didn't laugh, they didn't even chuckle; instead, they only looked at each other in silence. She could only imagine the confusion on their faces; perhaps, they were even disgusted, too.
Kana waited a moment longer until she was sure that everybody looked at her again. Then she just pointed at the moderator and gave the audience the best confused expression she could muster up. She moved the finger to her own dome, making a short spinning motion with it. This earned her a few awkward chuckles from the still-shocked audience. It really was nothing amazing, but the tides have finally shifted more into her favor.
Spot on… that moderator is a total amateur.
As soon as he is faced with someone who doesn't play by the rules of his little cards, he gets all flustered…
It's almost cute to watch, but now it's my turn.
"I'm truly sorry," said Kana as she got up from her chair once again, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sorry for ruining y'all's show. I know how much you would've liked to see me run off the stage. Crying like a little kid…" Kana made a dramatic pause. She could feel the anticipatory gazes of the entire audience rest upon her. "But don't worry, I won't let y'all down," She said as she pulled her own cards out of her pocket and held them high above her head.
After initial moments of silence, the crowd started to cheer, realizing what she had planned all along. Kana continued to pose for the cheering crowd. They made her entire body flood with goosebumps; it felt so good.
"So, back to you, Danny," she said as she sat back in her seat. "You know, I realized what kind of shit show this here really is, so I did a bit of research on you. You know? To even the odds. And I found a few really interesting things."
"S-Stop-" the moderator said into his earpiece, "Stop the program." The crowd watched in awe as the scene in front of them unfolded; the moderator desperately trying to get the curtains to close while Kana sat leaning back in her chair; the hand she held the microphone in hanging limp down on her side.
"They won't listen, Danny," Kana teased her voice dripping with schadenfreude, like she was explaining an obvious thing to a grade-schooler. "They don't care who is embarrassed on this stage as long as the people like it… So if I manage to make them laugh louder than you did." Kana leaned over the table, looming over the moderator. "Then there's no way out of this situation for you… Unless, of course, you choose to run off the stage, crying like a little kid."
Kana leaned back in her chair, almost lying in it as she started to theatrically shuffle through her cards. "So, which one do y'all want to hear first?" she giggled into her microphone while glancing at the crowd. One after another, she began to hold the cards up. The screams of the crowd filled every fiber of her being with ecstasy. They still sounded like a bunch of monkeys, but being the zookeeper was way more fun than being the banana.
"This one?" Kana asked into the crowd as she held up the fourth card. This gesture was met by even louder screams.
"Ouh, this one is my favourite," she mumbled as she sat upright again, facing back towards the moderator, who had begun to sink into his chair, as if he would want to disappear. "Your wife cheated on you, and then she left with the kids? That's rough, man, I almost feel sorry."
11th of January, 10:20 pm, Aqua's hideout
I wish I would've gone to see my father when I had the chance to…
Why didn't I just go against my Mom and visit him anyway?…
I wonder if he will cry at my funeral…
Dumb question, of course he will…
A cold wind whistled through the deserted streets of the neighbourhood. Most animals had found a warm shelter to spend the night long ago; only a small murder of crows remained on the outside. They sat in the backyard of Aqua's hideout, on top of a massive, dead oak tree, watching intensely.
I am such a disappointment… I told my mom dozens of times that she wouldn't have to worry.
Why am I such a liar? She just built up the courage to trust me again, and now I've decided to die on her… This thought makes me sad…
Everything that was once inside this house was gone by now. The previous owners took every last wardrobe, every last stool, and every last photograph with them, wherever they went. It was a wonder they left the wallpaper behind.
Why did I think I could break this curse with nothing more than words?
Everybody always told me how smart and gifted I am…
I guess they were wrong; I make the same stupid mistakes everybody else makes.
There was a newspaper on the ground, which Aqua had used to conceal his incense. On the cover page was a picture of Hikaru Kamiki. While they hadn't pronounced him dead just yet, the police had already stopped searching, due to a lack of evidence.
Why is my body so cold?
No, it's just my hands which are cold…
And my feet…
Maybe my arms and legs, too.
But my torso feels like it's on fire…
I should definitely go get that checked out by a doctor.
A few doors down the road, under a parked car, a stray cat just birthed a litter of 7 healthy babies; yet, the 8th one died before it ever saw the light of day. Nobody will ever mourn this little kitten, though.
No… It's too late for a doctor…
I want Aqua…
He is a doctor, too…
I want him to hold me…
Please, at least grant me that wish…
I am the worst. I want the love of a guy who stabbed me…
I just understand why he thinks what he does is right, and I forgive him…
What is wrong with me?
Why am I like that?
Nobody would be like that…
Doesn't matter now, I want him to look at me…
Please just look at me… Why won't he look at me?
Maybe…
"G-G-Go… Go– Gorou-" Akane groaned out, her voice barely louder than a whisper in the wind. However, to Aqua, it sounded like a scream; echoing back and forth in his head, threatening to shatter everything in its wake. Not only his thoughts, but also everything he believed up until now. The hair on his neck stood up as he turned to face Akane's unmoving, bloody body.
"What did you just say, Akane?"