[Fanfic] The Wicked [Chapter 9]
Title: The Wicked [Chapter 9]
Rating: T
Warnings: AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.
Summary: The Citizens of Deimon are celebrating the death of a man they deemed Wicked. But is there more to it than what it seems? Could something bigger had happened behind the scenes? Semi-based on the Broadway Musical "Wicked" and is a semi-Musical. HiruMamo and SenaSuzu.
Disclaimers: I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!
Notes: moodylollipop is an evil, evil woman. Not a day goes by where she didn't bug me to finish this chapter. And now she can't stop bugging me to finish the next. She bugs me so much that I can't even plan any other projects cause she insists I focus on this story. WHY DO YOU LIKE THIS STORY SO MUCH?? RAWR!!
LOL!! All jokes aside, pretty serious chapter this week. No songs used but this chapter has some pretty important development. I really hope you guys enjoy this! We pretty much reach a turning point right now in this story as well as the end of the first arc.
A big, big glomp to moodylollipop for being my beta for this. ^^ Enjoy!
~*~
“Hey Monta, ready to go?” asked Sena as he picked up his text books. Classes had just ended and it was time for them to head to the field.
“I’ll be with you in a sec,” said Monta, and winced at the huge pile of books on his desk he intended to lug back to his room. His marks were dropping and he was desperate to get his grades back up, so he borrowed a bunch of textbooks. Looking back, he feared he may have borrowed one too many. “I’m gonna try and pack these in my bag.”
“All right, I’ll see you on the field then,” said Sena before speeding off. Monta was alone in the classroom now, and was trying to force a textbook into his overflowing, splitting bag when he overheard some students talking in the distance.
“What do you mean it was Agon who turned that boy into a gorilla?” he heard one boy say.
“I’m telling you, I work for Agon now and of course, I’ll know all his secrets,” he heard the other boy say. “It’s true, Agon actually possesses powerful magic that no one else has. He doesn’t even mutter any spells, and you know how dangerous spells are. Yet you saw what he did to that boy right? It seems no one can cure him. That’s because Agon’s so powerful.”
Monta’s eyes widened at this. Was that why Agon made sure Monta left during that night when he confronted him? So that he wouldn’t see what he was about to do to that boy? Monta stopped moving, and was trying not to breathe for fear the boys would notice he was in that classroom. “Whoa... so he’s in the midst of recruiting more guys? What’s up with that?”
“Don’t know... all I know is that it’s best to be on his side... or else...” Their voices trailed away. Monta finally began to hyperventilate. No way... he couldn’t believe what he had just heard...
He left the rest of his textbooks on that desk and ran out of the classroom, hoping to tell Sena or even Mamori what he had heard. In his hurry, he crashed into someone mid-leap out the door, and his textbooks flew in all directions from the long-suffering bag. “MUKYA! Sorry max!”
“Watch where you’re going, Fucking Monkey!” he heard the person he crashed into yell. Monta made an “Eep!” sound when he realized that it was Hiruma he’d knocked into.
“H-Hiruma, I’m sorry!” cried Monta. “I-I have to rush…” he muttered to himself as he began to pick up his scattered textbooks. “Something bad’s happening in Deimon...”
“Harh?” went Hiruma. “What the fuck are you mumbling about?”
“Can’t talk now,” said Monta as he finally stuffed all the textbooks into his bag. “I have to go. Oh! You’re Mamori’s roommate, right? Tell her to beware of Agon!”
“What-” but Hiruma was cut off as Monta ran away helter-skelter. Hiruma shook his head, and headed back to his dorm.
The moment he entered, Mamori was in the middle of cooking something that smelt good. “How’re you today, Hiruma?” she asked.
“Stop asking about my fucking day so much,” said Hiruma. “It’s just the same like any other days. I kept my nose where it should be and no shit happens.”
Mamori said nothing as she continued cooking but he could tell she was smiling. It annoyed him how he was starting to understand her quirks and reactions. In order to keep his mind distracted, he decided to start on the textbook he’d just borrowed from the library. He opened his bag to look for it…
And found it missing. “Shit,” he muttered to himself.
“What’s wrong?” asked Mamori.
“I crashed into that Fucking Monkey and I think he took my textbook by mistake,” said Hiruma. He got up and prepared to leave.
“Is he at the field?” Mamori continued to question as she turned off the stove to look at him. “I could follow you if you want...”
“Do I look like some fucking kid?” replied Hiruma.
“Just… be careful, okay?” said Mamori, who looked surprised that she said that.
Hiruma looked at her for a moment, then left saying, “I’ll be right back.”
Monta reached the field and saw that Sena was already picking up strewn balls on the field. He was about to join him when he heard a boy call out to him. “Hey you! Monkey!”
“MUKYA! I am not a monkey!” Monta automatically reacted, but panicked when he saw that Agon was with the boy who called him. He did his best to keep himself looking calm and not suspicious, but he couldn’t stop sweating. He walked up to them. “Y-yeah?”
Agon grinned. “Come. We need to have a bit of a talk.”
Monta gulped as the other boys grabbed his arms, with Agon leading the way. He was led into an empty classroom in another building and was forced to sit. Agon sat before him, still grinning. “Now I’ll make this quick and simple as I know you don’t want to waste your time here... I heard from a little source of mine that you know something interesting... about me...”
Monta gulped even louder. He felt a trickle of sweat falling from the side of his face. “I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about...”
“Oh, I think I know what you do,” Agon drew closer. “Because I just found out that you mentioned to tell Anezaki Mamori… to beware of me...”
Monta’s eyes widened in horror. No way! He was sure no one was around! Could he possibly… “N-n-nope, don’t know what you’re talking about...”
“DON’T LIE TO ME!!” Agon shouted as he punched one of the desks nearby, and Monta gasped when he saw that he had actually punched through the desk. “I was there. I heard you. I saw you.”
Monta was shivering now. Then he swallowed what little fear he showed, and said, “You’re not going to hurt Mamori, are you? You’ve been trying to ask her out a lot…”
“Now why would I hurt her?” said Agon, grinning again. “Sure, she may not have the looks but she has a great body and potentially... a lot more.”
Monta blinked. “Is that all she is to you?”
“Were you expecting more from someone like me? Come on now...” Agon laughed a little. “She’s definitely going to be a good fuck and that’s why-”
Monta lunged himself at Agon, his big hands around his neck. “Don’t you DARE ruin my sweet and beautiful Mamori!!” he shouted as he tried to choke Agon.
Agon writhed and grabbed at Monta with one hand while the other instantly dipped into his pocket. The boys quickly grabbed Monta who struggled and shouted even louder at Agon. The moment he felt that pendant in his hand, Agon grinned. “Interesting...” said Agon. “Not many have actually fought back, so I applaud your courage. But the few who did...” Agon raised the pendant before him. “Never really got to say that out loud.”
Hiruma had just entered one of the college buildings as a shortcut towards the field when he heard a loud commotion in one of the corridors. Curiousity got the best of him, and he decided to look down the corridor, when he saw a monkey rush up to him. “What the fuck?!” cried Hiruma.
The monkey actually looked human for a moment when a glimmer of recognition crossed its eyes upon seeing Hiruma. And then it pounced on him, causing Hiruma to fall on his back. “Get off me!” he cried as he grabbed the monkey and tried to push him away, but the monkey held on to him all the more. “MUKYA! MUKYA! MUKYA!” the monkey cried.
Upon hearing that, Hiruma stopped to take a good look at the monkey. “Fucking monkey?!” he said incredulously. The monkey nodded excitedly.
Then he heard a girl scream and realized it was a cheerleader. Then another boy was there and he shouted, “Hiruma turned another boy into an animal!!”
“What?” Hiruma whispered, but people were crowding around him now.
“I recognize that boy! It’s Raimon Tarou!”
“I saw him bumping into Hiruma today, this must be his revenge!”
“It’s all your fault!”
“What have you done?!”
The monkey, too, seemed shocked by this. He quickly released Hiruma and made gestures attempting to tell them that they were completely wrong. But all that came out of Monta’s mouth was just the screech of “MUKYA!”
Hiruma suddenly felt a huge blow on the left side of his face. Someone had thrown a textbook at him. He briefly touched his face which suddenly felt slightly swollen. “Get out of here you demon!”
“No, we’ve got to kill him before he kills us!”
Hiruma’s eyes widened at those words. And suddenly felt hot red anger building in him, something he had managed to suppress for so long was emerging, and he knew that was a bad sign. He quickly got up and began to run. Most of the students got out of his way, but as he feared, a number of boys were chasing him.
Mamori had just set the table for dinner when she heard her phone ring. She quickly picked it up, “Hello?”
“Mamori, is Hiruma with you?” she heard Musashi ask, and noticed the tinge of panic in his voice.
“No, he’s not here… is something wrong?”
She heard Musashi sigh. “Listen to me... Now don’t panic. I heard that another boy was transformed into an animal. This time it’s Monta-”
“Oh no, Monta!” cried Mamori in panic. “Is he okay?”
“He is but that’s not my only concern... Some students said they caught Hiruma changing Monta into a monkey... and now they’re chasing him. Me and Kurita are looking for him now. He should be somewhere around town heading somewhere we don’t know… if you see him...” Mamori put down the phone, grabbed one of her jackets and ran out of the dorm.
As she ran out, she panicked and wondered which direction to go. “Come on, Mamori, think!” she said to herself. Then she heard a bark and saw Cerberus run up to her. “That’s it!”
Hiruma was running blindly now. He had no idea where he was, never having been to this side of town. Why were they so fucking persistent in chasing him this far was beyond him. But the more he ran, the more he knew those boys would beat him up if they came anywhere close to him. Every time they came close to whacking him with those metal bars or bats, the anger in him built up. Whatever happened, he had to keep his distance from them… Or else…
The short memory of what had happened a long time ago, a figure before him bleeding and smiling, and the darkness in the alleyway he just ran into caused him to trip on uneven ground. He fell badly and struggled to get up. But he knew it was too late. He turned to find the boys rushing up to him now, their weapons in the air, ready to be thrown at him… and he knew he couldn’t hold it in any longer…
Hiruma’s eyes turned red. The memory of the bloodied smiling figure lingered in his mind. He was about to release the pent up anger when he heard a familiar voice cry. “NOOOO!!”
Hiruma felt some of his powers release. Sharp painful spikes rose from the ground and he panicked as he saw that they were about to reach the boys, but it stopped. And the boys seemed to have hit an invisible wall as they seemed to beat the air, wondering why they couldn’t reach Hiruma. He turned behind him to hear the sound of barking and to find Mamori at a distance, breathing hard with her arms in the air. “Are you okay?” she asked, gasping to catch her breath.
“Are you a fucking idiot?!” Hiruma cried. “You could get hurt here!”
“Me?! What about you?!” she replied. Her arms were shaking now and there was an obvious strain in her voice. “Look, we have no time to argue! Just get out of here while I hold those boys off! Cerberus will lead the way out! Look for Musashi and Kurita!”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine! Just go!” Mamori could not argue with him anymore and looked at him pleadingly.
Hiruma bit his lip. He had just put her in a lot of danger, and felt guilty about it. He wanted to be by her side, make sure she wouldn’t get hurt. But he knew by being by her side, she could be even more at risk. With one last look, he nodded and wordlessly left her, Cerberus leading the way.
Once she could no longer hear his footsteps, Mamori dropped the force field and fell on her knees, leaning on a nearby wall, breathing heavily. The boys ran past her, though one stopped to look at her. “He must have done this...” one of them growled, and then ran to follow the others.
“No...” Mamori murmured as she struggled to get up. “It’s not what you think...” But they had long gone.
Hiruma continued running, following Cerberus to who knows where. He wasn’t sure if Cerberus even knew how to lead him to Musashi or Kurita, but if the Fucking Mutt could just lead him back into an area he would recognize, that’d be just fine. Still it was obvious he was going deeper and deeper into the unknown part of Deimon, and was annoyed by this fact. The Fucking Mutt must be lost!
But the dog suddenly stopped in front of a small, dark building. He stopped, catching his breath and glared at Cerberus. “Why the fuck did you bring me here, Fucking Mutt?” But Cerberus ignored him and scratched the door in a manner that told Hiruma to open it. Hiruma felt tempted to kick the damn dog and tell him that he needed to find the Fucking Old Man and Fatty. But Cerberus began to claw insistently and even growled back at Hiruma. “Keh,” went Hiruma as he opened the door, surprised that it was not locked.
Cerberus dashed into the darkness of the building. Hiruma tried to search for a light but failed to find the switch. He was cursing in his head now. He had no time to hang out here! Mamori could be in danger! Just as he finally decided to leave the Fucking Mutt in that building, he heard a click and saw a light shining somewhere in the building. He followed it and saw steps leading down to the basement, where the source of the light was. He suddenly felt drawn to it, despite also sensing a strange aura coming from there as well.
He went down the steps, the aura growing stronger. And soon he saw the source of the light came from a lamp on a lone desk in the basement. Books were scattered on dusty and broken shelves, and especially on the floor. But one particularly large book stood out as the only one on the desk. Hiruma was curious about this. He instantly went towards it and opened the book.
Hiruma’s eyes widened. These were spells. Spells were not common, as it was best to just understand magic and develop your own powers from there. But using spells was unheard of as it required pushing the boundaries of one’s own magic. As few have yet to attempt this, and those who did ended up in a comatose state for a long while, using spells were banned until they develop a way to use them safely. So why was there a book on spells here? Was this place some kind of restricted library?
He flipped through the pages and held back a gasp. There were spells on controlling and killing people. There were spells that required the use of human body parts and blood. And it was then he figured out something wrong… this book was not written in any language he knew or ever learnt. Yet he was able to read it.
He took a step back away from the book, the horror of realizing this slowly dawning on him. Questions raced through his mind. Why could he read that? What does this all mean?
What in the world is he?
He heard a low growl and noticed Cerberus was next to him, with something in his mouth. He stooped down and took it, and realized it was a diary. He sat on the floor near their only source of light, Cerberus laid down next to him as he read the contents of the library.
After half an hour of reading, Hiruma let out a low cackle. He buried his face in one of his hands, uncertain of the emotions rushing through him. “You Fucking Mutt...” he murmured. “You brought me here on purpose, didn’t you? You’ve been waiting for a chance to lead me here and find out about this shit?”
Cerberus raised his head and merely looked at Hiruma with those evil eyes. “Fuck,” Hiruma got up. “This fucking changes everything.” He looked at Cerberus, who cocked his head, confused by Hiruma’s expression. Was that anger? Sadness? Disappointment? Gladness? “Things won’t be the same anymore.” He flipped through the book of spells, found one particular spell useful, memorized it, and headed out of the building.
Mamori wandered aimlessly around the unknown part of Deimon, wondering where to go. “Where are you?” she whispered into the air. She couldn’t find the boys or Hiruma anywhere, and without Cerberus, she didn’t know how to find her way around. Her body still felt weak from her attempt at magic, and she knew she had to rest somewhere soon.
She felt her phone vibrate and picked it up. “Did you find him?” she instantly asked.
“No,” said Musashi in obvious disappointment. “He’s nowhere around here either. Look, Mamori, it’s late. And it’s not safe for you to be alone right now.”
“But Hiruma’s missing! He could be hurt or in trouble!” cried Mamori.
“Listen to me carefully, Mamori,” said Musashi sternly. “There’s nothing we can do right now. If I know Hiruma, no news from him is good news. We’ll just have to trust that he’s all right. Now tell me where you are so that I can at least send Sena to you.”
Mamori looked at her surroundings where there were only a few dim lights. “I’m at a park. Possibly the only one in this district.” Mamori added more details and soon hung up the phone. She sat down on one of the nearby steps, just under one dim light and sighed.
She felt a sudden sharp breeze and shivered, clutching on to her jacket tightly. And then out of nothing, she felt presence behind her. “Well, don’t you look like shit.”
Mamori felt her heart leap. She was about to turn and call out his name when she heard him sharply hiss, “Don’t turn around!”
Mamori felt as though a pair of visible hands kept her down and made it hard for her to move. “W-what?” she murmured. “Hiruma? Is something wrong?”
“... No.”
It was such a blatant and obvious lie. Normally Mamori would be angry by this, but something about the situation made her frightened instead. “Are you hurt? Is that why you won’t let me see you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Hiruma, what-”
“Mamori.”
She gasped. Although she had always wanted to hear him say her name, instead of dismissing it or cursing at her, the way he said her name felt... painful. “Hiruma...” she said slowly. “Tell me what’s wrong...”
There was a short silence. Mamori’s heart was beating frantically now. She still couldn’t move to see what was going on. Then she heard him say, “I have to go.”
“Go? Where?”
“Away. From you. From everyone.”
The shock hadn’t really settled in just yet. “Why?”
“Because… I have to.”
“But why?!” Mamori cried out, louder than she expected. “I don’t get it! Why do you have to go?!”
“Many people around me are getting hurt, or are losing their chances to do bigger things. I don’t want you or anyone to stoop down to my level anymore. You and the others deserve better than that.”
“Why are you saying those things?! Do you honestly think we should leave you just because bad things happen?! We care about you!! Musashi, Kurita, Sena... and even myself… we all care about you! So come back, Hiruma…” Mamori felt tears stinging her eyes. She was surprised by this. She should be angry at Hiruma! “We’ll work things out!”
“... It’s too late. I can’t go back anymore.”
“Why not?!”
“Damn it, Mamori, do you have to make things fucking harder than it is?!”
“I’ll do it if it means not losing you!” Tears were spilling out now. Mamori cursed inwardly. She should be much stronger than this! “Please... please don’t...”
She heard nothing for a moment, other than her attempts to breathe and stop the tears flowing down her cheek. Then she heard him say. “I’m sorry. Goodbye.”
Suddenly his presence, the invisible hands, everything disappeared. Mamori sat there in shock, uncertain whether that had really happened. “Hiruma…” she whispered. Then got up and looked behind her, where it was obvious Hiruma was not there.
“Mamori!” she heard Sena call and rushed up to her in full speed. “I’m so glad I found you! I wasn’t sure about the roads around here either and…” He saw the tears falling down Mamori’s cheek, and that she was looking into the darkness. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s gone,” she whispered.
“Who?”
“Hiruma... he said he’s not coming back anymore…”
“You saw him?”
“No. He wouldn’t let me see him… He just said he’s not coming back anymore… I pleaded for him to stay and yet... Yet...” Mamori clamped her mouth to stop a sob from escaping.
Sena’s eyes widened in shock. He instantly called Musashi, told him about what he had just heard and gave him instructions on how to get there. Musashi, driving his father’s van, rushed to the scene with Kurita in tow. He rushed up to Mamori. “What happened?” he asked.
Mamori looked a little calmer now. She recounted everything that Hiruma said to her, about how he had to leave to protect them. Musashi and Kurita were shocked by this development, especially when she mentioned that she couldn’t move to see him. Kurita ran around the park, screaming out Hiruma’s name and bawling. But Musashi noticed that Mamori was looking blankly into the darkness.
He sighed, then placed a hand on Mamori’s shoulder. “It’s all right...” he said to her. “It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could do.”
Mamori was surprised by what he said. But felt the pain in her heart double by those words. She hid her face in her hands and cried, wailing and sobbing as softly as she could. Sena rubbed Mamori’s back calmly. Once Mamori stopped crying a little, Musashi got all of them into the van, despite Kurita’s protest that Hiruma could still be around, and sent them back.
Musashi followed Mamori up to the door to her dorm. “We’ll search for him tomorrow,” said Mamori, not looking at Musashi as she unlocked the door. “Right?”
“We will, but you won’t,” said Musashi. “You have that date with Agon tomorrow, remember?”
Mamori winced, clearly she had forgotten it was tomorrow.
“I’ll call you the moment we find something on Hiruma,” said Musashi. “But for now, you have to get some rest.”
Mamori nodded, still not looking at him. “Thank you. Goodnight then.”
Musashi nodded as he watched Mamori enter her dorm and locked the door. He closed his eyes, looked up and sighed. “What were you thinking, Hiruma?”
Mamori looked at the dorm. Despite having lived there on her own for quite a while, even before Hiruma moved in, it suddenly felt a lot emptier now. The dinner she had prepared for them was cold now, and she didn’t have the appetite to eat her share. She carefully packed up the food and put in the fridge, then washed the dishes and cleared them out. Her mind was empty the entire time, unable to process a single thought.
When everything was clean, she headed to her room but stopped when she glanced at Hiruma’s room which was conveniently left open. Then something crossed her mind. Maybe he’d appear if she was in his room? Maybe he’d come rushing in, or appear behind her like before, and then tell her off in that awful language of his?
Maybe he’d come back?
Instantly Mamori headed towards his room. She took a deep breath, then pushed the door open further, and turned on the light in his room.
He didn’t appear.
Mamori felt foolish. How stupid! Did she really think that Hiruma would care about his room that much to actually come back? Why did she even think that? Why was she so desperate for him to come back? Didn’t they fight a lot? Wasn’t he always mean to her?
Tears were brimming in her eyes again. But why does her heart hurt so much?
She carefully walked through his room as clothes and books littered his floor. His bed was unmade but she sat on it as she tried to calm herself down. “There was nothing I could do...” she whispered to herself. “Even though I promised to help him...” Tears spilled down again. “I still couldn’t do anything...”
She laid her head on his pillow which she was now staining with her tears, exhaustion slowly claiming her. Before she succumbed to it, she whispered his name one last time before finally falling into a deep sleep.
Chapter 8 | Chapter 10
~*~
Extra Notes: I may not have used any songs from Wicked, but I kept listening to this song as I wrote the last quarter of this chapter. I didn't realize until after I wrote it that the song fitted quite well with that scene. Just pointing it out. ^^ Really hope this chapter did justice!
Rating: T
Warnings: AU, slight OOC, and as it's a semi-musical based on a not so very popular broadway musical, it can be confusing.
Summary: The Citizens of Deimon are celebrating the death of a man they deemed Wicked. But is there more to it than what it seems? Could something bigger had happened behind the scenes? Semi-based on the Broadway Musical "Wicked" and is a semi-Musical. HiruMamo and SenaSuzu.
Disclaimers: I do not own the characters and the lyrics used here (despite the modifications). They belong to their respective owners!
Notes: moodylollipop is an evil, evil woman. Not a day goes by where she didn't bug me to finish this chapter. And now she can't stop bugging me to finish the next. She bugs me so much that I can't even plan any other projects cause she insists I focus on this story. WHY DO YOU LIKE THIS STORY SO MUCH?? RAWR!!
LOL!! All jokes aside, pretty serious chapter this week. No songs used but this chapter has some pretty important development. I really hope you guys enjoy this! We pretty much reach a turning point right now in this story as well as the end of the first arc.
A big, big glomp to moodylollipop for being my beta for this. ^^ Enjoy!
~*~
“Hey Monta, ready to go?” asked Sena as he picked up his text books. Classes had just ended and it was time for them to head to the field.
“I’ll be with you in a sec,” said Monta, and winced at the huge pile of books on his desk he intended to lug back to his room. His marks were dropping and he was desperate to get his grades back up, so he borrowed a bunch of textbooks. Looking back, he feared he may have borrowed one too many. “I’m gonna try and pack these in my bag.”
“All right, I’ll see you on the field then,” said Sena before speeding off. Monta was alone in the classroom now, and was trying to force a textbook into his overflowing, splitting bag when he overheard some students talking in the distance.
“What do you mean it was Agon who turned that boy into a gorilla?” he heard one boy say.
“I’m telling you, I work for Agon now and of course, I’ll know all his secrets,” he heard the other boy say. “It’s true, Agon actually possesses powerful magic that no one else has. He doesn’t even mutter any spells, and you know how dangerous spells are. Yet you saw what he did to that boy right? It seems no one can cure him. That’s because Agon’s so powerful.”
Monta’s eyes widened at this. Was that why Agon made sure Monta left during that night when he confronted him? So that he wouldn’t see what he was about to do to that boy? Monta stopped moving, and was trying not to breathe for fear the boys would notice he was in that classroom. “Whoa... so he’s in the midst of recruiting more guys? What’s up with that?”
“Don’t know... all I know is that it’s best to be on his side... or else...” Their voices trailed away. Monta finally began to hyperventilate. No way... he couldn’t believe what he had just heard...
He left the rest of his textbooks on that desk and ran out of the classroom, hoping to tell Sena or even Mamori what he had heard. In his hurry, he crashed into someone mid-leap out the door, and his textbooks flew in all directions from the long-suffering bag. “MUKYA! Sorry max!”
“Watch where you’re going, Fucking Monkey!” he heard the person he crashed into yell. Monta made an “Eep!” sound when he realized that it was Hiruma he’d knocked into.
“H-Hiruma, I’m sorry!” cried Monta. “I-I have to rush…” he muttered to himself as he began to pick up his scattered textbooks. “Something bad’s happening in Deimon...”
“Harh?” went Hiruma. “What the fuck are you mumbling about?”
“Can’t talk now,” said Monta as he finally stuffed all the textbooks into his bag. “I have to go. Oh! You’re Mamori’s roommate, right? Tell her to beware of Agon!”
“What-” but Hiruma was cut off as Monta ran away helter-skelter. Hiruma shook his head, and headed back to his dorm.
The moment he entered, Mamori was in the middle of cooking something that smelt good. “How’re you today, Hiruma?” she asked.
“Stop asking about my fucking day so much,” said Hiruma. “It’s just the same like any other days. I kept my nose where it should be and no shit happens.”
Mamori said nothing as she continued cooking but he could tell she was smiling. It annoyed him how he was starting to understand her quirks and reactions. In order to keep his mind distracted, he decided to start on the textbook he’d just borrowed from the library. He opened his bag to look for it…
And found it missing. “Shit,” he muttered to himself.
“What’s wrong?” asked Mamori.
“I crashed into that Fucking Monkey and I think he took my textbook by mistake,” said Hiruma. He got up and prepared to leave.
“Is he at the field?” Mamori continued to question as she turned off the stove to look at him. “I could follow you if you want...”
“Do I look like some fucking kid?” replied Hiruma.
“Just… be careful, okay?” said Mamori, who looked surprised that she said that.
Hiruma looked at her for a moment, then left saying, “I’ll be right back.”
Monta reached the field and saw that Sena was already picking up strewn balls on the field. He was about to join him when he heard a boy call out to him. “Hey you! Monkey!”
“MUKYA! I am not a monkey!” Monta automatically reacted, but panicked when he saw that Agon was with the boy who called him. He did his best to keep himself looking calm and not suspicious, but he couldn’t stop sweating. He walked up to them. “Y-yeah?”
Agon grinned. “Come. We need to have a bit of a talk.”
Monta gulped as the other boys grabbed his arms, with Agon leading the way. He was led into an empty classroom in another building and was forced to sit. Agon sat before him, still grinning. “Now I’ll make this quick and simple as I know you don’t want to waste your time here... I heard from a little source of mine that you know something interesting... about me...”
Monta gulped even louder. He felt a trickle of sweat falling from the side of his face. “I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about...”
“Oh, I think I know what you do,” Agon drew closer. “Because I just found out that you mentioned to tell Anezaki Mamori… to beware of me...”
Monta’s eyes widened in horror. No way! He was sure no one was around! Could he possibly… “N-n-nope, don’t know what you’re talking about...”
“DON’T LIE TO ME!!” Agon shouted as he punched one of the desks nearby, and Monta gasped when he saw that he had actually punched through the desk. “I was there. I heard you. I saw you.”
Monta was shivering now. Then he swallowed what little fear he showed, and said, “You’re not going to hurt Mamori, are you? You’ve been trying to ask her out a lot…”
“Now why would I hurt her?” said Agon, grinning again. “Sure, she may not have the looks but she has a great body and potentially... a lot more.”
Monta blinked. “Is that all she is to you?”
“Were you expecting more from someone like me? Come on now...” Agon laughed a little. “She’s definitely going to be a good fuck and that’s why-”
Monta lunged himself at Agon, his big hands around his neck. “Don’t you DARE ruin my sweet and beautiful Mamori!!” he shouted as he tried to choke Agon.
Agon writhed and grabbed at Monta with one hand while the other instantly dipped into his pocket. The boys quickly grabbed Monta who struggled and shouted even louder at Agon. The moment he felt that pendant in his hand, Agon grinned. “Interesting...” said Agon. “Not many have actually fought back, so I applaud your courage. But the few who did...” Agon raised the pendant before him. “Never really got to say that out loud.”
Hiruma had just entered one of the college buildings as a shortcut towards the field when he heard a loud commotion in one of the corridors. Curiousity got the best of him, and he decided to look down the corridor, when he saw a monkey rush up to him. “What the fuck?!” cried Hiruma.
The monkey actually looked human for a moment when a glimmer of recognition crossed its eyes upon seeing Hiruma. And then it pounced on him, causing Hiruma to fall on his back. “Get off me!” he cried as he grabbed the monkey and tried to push him away, but the monkey held on to him all the more. “MUKYA! MUKYA! MUKYA!” the monkey cried.
Upon hearing that, Hiruma stopped to take a good look at the monkey. “Fucking monkey?!” he said incredulously. The monkey nodded excitedly.
Then he heard a girl scream and realized it was a cheerleader. Then another boy was there and he shouted, “Hiruma turned another boy into an animal!!”
“What?” Hiruma whispered, but people were crowding around him now.
“I recognize that boy! It’s Raimon Tarou!”
“I saw him bumping into Hiruma today, this must be his revenge!”
“It’s all your fault!”
“What have you done?!”
The monkey, too, seemed shocked by this. He quickly released Hiruma and made gestures attempting to tell them that they were completely wrong. But all that came out of Monta’s mouth was just the screech of “MUKYA!”
Hiruma suddenly felt a huge blow on the left side of his face. Someone had thrown a textbook at him. He briefly touched his face which suddenly felt slightly swollen. “Get out of here you demon!”
“No, we’ve got to kill him before he kills us!”
Hiruma’s eyes widened at those words. And suddenly felt hot red anger building in him, something he had managed to suppress for so long was emerging, and he knew that was a bad sign. He quickly got up and began to run. Most of the students got out of his way, but as he feared, a number of boys were chasing him.
Mamori had just set the table for dinner when she heard her phone ring. She quickly picked it up, “Hello?”
“Mamori, is Hiruma with you?” she heard Musashi ask, and noticed the tinge of panic in his voice.
“No, he’s not here… is something wrong?”
She heard Musashi sigh. “Listen to me... Now don’t panic. I heard that another boy was transformed into an animal. This time it’s Monta-”
“Oh no, Monta!” cried Mamori in panic. “Is he okay?”
“He is but that’s not my only concern... Some students said they caught Hiruma changing Monta into a monkey... and now they’re chasing him. Me and Kurita are looking for him now. He should be somewhere around town heading somewhere we don’t know… if you see him...” Mamori put down the phone, grabbed one of her jackets and ran out of the dorm.
As she ran out, she panicked and wondered which direction to go. “Come on, Mamori, think!” she said to herself. Then she heard a bark and saw Cerberus run up to her. “That’s it!”
Hiruma was running blindly now. He had no idea where he was, never having been to this side of town. Why were they so fucking persistent in chasing him this far was beyond him. But the more he ran, the more he knew those boys would beat him up if they came anywhere close to him. Every time they came close to whacking him with those metal bars or bats, the anger in him built up. Whatever happened, he had to keep his distance from them… Or else…
The short memory of what had happened a long time ago, a figure before him bleeding and smiling, and the darkness in the alleyway he just ran into caused him to trip on uneven ground. He fell badly and struggled to get up. But he knew it was too late. He turned to find the boys rushing up to him now, their weapons in the air, ready to be thrown at him… and he knew he couldn’t hold it in any longer…
Hiruma’s eyes turned red. The memory of the bloodied smiling figure lingered in his mind. He was about to release the pent up anger when he heard a familiar voice cry. “NOOOO!!”
Hiruma felt some of his powers release. Sharp painful spikes rose from the ground and he panicked as he saw that they were about to reach the boys, but it stopped. And the boys seemed to have hit an invisible wall as they seemed to beat the air, wondering why they couldn’t reach Hiruma. He turned behind him to hear the sound of barking and to find Mamori at a distance, breathing hard with her arms in the air. “Are you okay?” she asked, gasping to catch her breath.
“Are you a fucking idiot?!” Hiruma cried. “You could get hurt here!”
“Me?! What about you?!” she replied. Her arms were shaking now and there was an obvious strain in her voice. “Look, we have no time to argue! Just get out of here while I hold those boys off! Cerberus will lead the way out! Look for Musashi and Kurita!”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine! Just go!” Mamori could not argue with him anymore and looked at him pleadingly.
Hiruma bit his lip. He had just put her in a lot of danger, and felt guilty about it. He wanted to be by her side, make sure she wouldn’t get hurt. But he knew by being by her side, she could be even more at risk. With one last look, he nodded and wordlessly left her, Cerberus leading the way.
Once she could no longer hear his footsteps, Mamori dropped the force field and fell on her knees, leaning on a nearby wall, breathing heavily. The boys ran past her, though one stopped to look at her. “He must have done this...” one of them growled, and then ran to follow the others.
“No...” Mamori murmured as she struggled to get up. “It’s not what you think...” But they had long gone.
Hiruma continued running, following Cerberus to who knows where. He wasn’t sure if Cerberus even knew how to lead him to Musashi or Kurita, but if the Fucking Mutt could just lead him back into an area he would recognize, that’d be just fine. Still it was obvious he was going deeper and deeper into the unknown part of Deimon, and was annoyed by this fact. The Fucking Mutt must be lost!
But the dog suddenly stopped in front of a small, dark building. He stopped, catching his breath and glared at Cerberus. “Why the fuck did you bring me here, Fucking Mutt?” But Cerberus ignored him and scratched the door in a manner that told Hiruma to open it. Hiruma felt tempted to kick the damn dog and tell him that he needed to find the Fucking Old Man and Fatty. But Cerberus began to claw insistently and even growled back at Hiruma. “Keh,” went Hiruma as he opened the door, surprised that it was not locked.
Cerberus dashed into the darkness of the building. Hiruma tried to search for a light but failed to find the switch. He was cursing in his head now. He had no time to hang out here! Mamori could be in danger! Just as he finally decided to leave the Fucking Mutt in that building, he heard a click and saw a light shining somewhere in the building. He followed it and saw steps leading down to the basement, where the source of the light was. He suddenly felt drawn to it, despite also sensing a strange aura coming from there as well.
He went down the steps, the aura growing stronger. And soon he saw the source of the light came from a lamp on a lone desk in the basement. Books were scattered on dusty and broken shelves, and especially on the floor. But one particularly large book stood out as the only one on the desk. Hiruma was curious about this. He instantly went towards it and opened the book.
Hiruma’s eyes widened. These were spells. Spells were not common, as it was best to just understand magic and develop your own powers from there. But using spells was unheard of as it required pushing the boundaries of one’s own magic. As few have yet to attempt this, and those who did ended up in a comatose state for a long while, using spells were banned until they develop a way to use them safely. So why was there a book on spells here? Was this place some kind of restricted library?
He flipped through the pages and held back a gasp. There were spells on controlling and killing people. There were spells that required the use of human body parts and blood. And it was then he figured out something wrong… this book was not written in any language he knew or ever learnt. Yet he was able to read it.
He took a step back away from the book, the horror of realizing this slowly dawning on him. Questions raced through his mind. Why could he read that? What does this all mean?
What in the world is he?
He heard a low growl and noticed Cerberus was next to him, with something in his mouth. He stooped down and took it, and realized it was a diary. He sat on the floor near their only source of light, Cerberus laid down next to him as he read the contents of the library.
After half an hour of reading, Hiruma let out a low cackle. He buried his face in one of his hands, uncertain of the emotions rushing through him. “You Fucking Mutt...” he murmured. “You brought me here on purpose, didn’t you? You’ve been waiting for a chance to lead me here and find out about this shit?”
Cerberus raised his head and merely looked at Hiruma with those evil eyes. “Fuck,” Hiruma got up. “This fucking changes everything.” He looked at Cerberus, who cocked his head, confused by Hiruma’s expression. Was that anger? Sadness? Disappointment? Gladness? “Things won’t be the same anymore.” He flipped through the book of spells, found one particular spell useful, memorized it, and headed out of the building.
Mamori wandered aimlessly around the unknown part of Deimon, wondering where to go. “Where are you?” she whispered into the air. She couldn’t find the boys or Hiruma anywhere, and without Cerberus, she didn’t know how to find her way around. Her body still felt weak from her attempt at magic, and she knew she had to rest somewhere soon.
She felt her phone vibrate and picked it up. “Did you find him?” she instantly asked.
“No,” said Musashi in obvious disappointment. “He’s nowhere around here either. Look, Mamori, it’s late. And it’s not safe for you to be alone right now.”
“But Hiruma’s missing! He could be hurt or in trouble!” cried Mamori.
“Listen to me carefully, Mamori,” said Musashi sternly. “There’s nothing we can do right now. If I know Hiruma, no news from him is good news. We’ll just have to trust that he’s all right. Now tell me where you are so that I can at least send Sena to you.”
Mamori looked at her surroundings where there were only a few dim lights. “I’m at a park. Possibly the only one in this district.” Mamori added more details and soon hung up the phone. She sat down on one of the nearby steps, just under one dim light and sighed.
She felt a sudden sharp breeze and shivered, clutching on to her jacket tightly. And then out of nothing, she felt presence behind her. “Well, don’t you look like shit.”
Mamori felt her heart leap. She was about to turn and call out his name when she heard him sharply hiss, “Don’t turn around!”
Mamori felt as though a pair of visible hands kept her down and made it hard for her to move. “W-what?” she murmured. “Hiruma? Is something wrong?”
“... No.”
It was such a blatant and obvious lie. Normally Mamori would be angry by this, but something about the situation made her frightened instead. “Are you hurt? Is that why you won’t let me see you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Hiruma, what-”
“Mamori.”
She gasped. Although she had always wanted to hear him say her name, instead of dismissing it or cursing at her, the way he said her name felt... painful. “Hiruma...” she said slowly. “Tell me what’s wrong...”
There was a short silence. Mamori’s heart was beating frantically now. She still couldn’t move to see what was going on. Then she heard him say, “I have to go.”
“Go? Where?”
“Away. From you. From everyone.”
The shock hadn’t really settled in just yet. “Why?”
“Because… I have to.”
“But why?!” Mamori cried out, louder than she expected. “I don’t get it! Why do you have to go?!”
“Many people around me are getting hurt, or are losing their chances to do bigger things. I don’t want you or anyone to stoop down to my level anymore. You and the others deserve better than that.”
“Why are you saying those things?! Do you honestly think we should leave you just because bad things happen?! We care about you!! Musashi, Kurita, Sena... and even myself… we all care about you! So come back, Hiruma…” Mamori felt tears stinging her eyes. She was surprised by this. She should be angry at Hiruma! “We’ll work things out!”
“... It’s too late. I can’t go back anymore.”
“Why not?!”
“Damn it, Mamori, do you have to make things fucking harder than it is?!”
“I’ll do it if it means not losing you!” Tears were spilling out now. Mamori cursed inwardly. She should be much stronger than this! “Please... please don’t...”
She heard nothing for a moment, other than her attempts to breathe and stop the tears flowing down her cheek. Then she heard him say. “I’m sorry. Goodbye.”
Suddenly his presence, the invisible hands, everything disappeared. Mamori sat there in shock, uncertain whether that had really happened. “Hiruma…” she whispered. Then got up and looked behind her, where it was obvious Hiruma was not there.
“Mamori!” she heard Sena call and rushed up to her in full speed. “I’m so glad I found you! I wasn’t sure about the roads around here either and…” He saw the tears falling down Mamori’s cheek, and that she was looking into the darkness. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s gone,” she whispered.
“Who?”
“Hiruma... he said he’s not coming back anymore…”
“You saw him?”
“No. He wouldn’t let me see him… He just said he’s not coming back anymore… I pleaded for him to stay and yet... Yet...” Mamori clamped her mouth to stop a sob from escaping.
Sena’s eyes widened in shock. He instantly called Musashi, told him about what he had just heard and gave him instructions on how to get there. Musashi, driving his father’s van, rushed to the scene with Kurita in tow. He rushed up to Mamori. “What happened?” he asked.
Mamori looked a little calmer now. She recounted everything that Hiruma said to her, about how he had to leave to protect them. Musashi and Kurita were shocked by this development, especially when she mentioned that she couldn’t move to see him. Kurita ran around the park, screaming out Hiruma’s name and bawling. But Musashi noticed that Mamori was looking blankly into the darkness.
He sighed, then placed a hand on Mamori’s shoulder. “It’s all right...” he said to her. “It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could do.”
Mamori was surprised by what he said. But felt the pain in her heart double by those words. She hid her face in her hands and cried, wailing and sobbing as softly as she could. Sena rubbed Mamori’s back calmly. Once Mamori stopped crying a little, Musashi got all of them into the van, despite Kurita’s protest that Hiruma could still be around, and sent them back.
Musashi followed Mamori up to the door to her dorm. “We’ll search for him tomorrow,” said Mamori, not looking at Musashi as she unlocked the door. “Right?”
“We will, but you won’t,” said Musashi. “You have that date with Agon tomorrow, remember?”
Mamori winced, clearly she had forgotten it was tomorrow.
“I’ll call you the moment we find something on Hiruma,” said Musashi. “But for now, you have to get some rest.”
Mamori nodded, still not looking at him. “Thank you. Goodnight then.”
Musashi nodded as he watched Mamori enter her dorm and locked the door. He closed his eyes, looked up and sighed. “What were you thinking, Hiruma?”
Mamori looked at the dorm. Despite having lived there on her own for quite a while, even before Hiruma moved in, it suddenly felt a lot emptier now. The dinner she had prepared for them was cold now, and she didn’t have the appetite to eat her share. She carefully packed up the food and put in the fridge, then washed the dishes and cleared them out. Her mind was empty the entire time, unable to process a single thought.
When everything was clean, she headed to her room but stopped when she glanced at Hiruma’s room which was conveniently left open. Then something crossed her mind. Maybe he’d appear if she was in his room? Maybe he’d come rushing in, or appear behind her like before, and then tell her off in that awful language of his?
Maybe he’d come back?
Instantly Mamori headed towards his room. She took a deep breath, then pushed the door open further, and turned on the light in his room.
He didn’t appear.
Mamori felt foolish. How stupid! Did she really think that Hiruma would care about his room that much to actually come back? Why did she even think that? Why was she so desperate for him to come back? Didn’t they fight a lot? Wasn’t he always mean to her?
Tears were brimming in her eyes again. But why does her heart hurt so much?
She carefully walked through his room as clothes and books littered his floor. His bed was unmade but she sat on it as she tried to calm herself down. “There was nothing I could do...” she whispered to herself. “Even though I promised to help him...” Tears spilled down again. “I still couldn’t do anything...”
She laid her head on his pillow which she was now staining with her tears, exhaustion slowly claiming her. Before she succumbed to it, she whispered his name one last time before finally falling into a deep sleep.
Chapter 8 | Chapter 10
~*~
Extra Notes: I may not have used any songs from Wicked, but I kept listening to this song as I wrote the last quarter of this chapter. I didn't realize until after I wrote it that the song fitted quite well with that scene. Just pointing it out. ^^ Really hope this chapter did justice!