The Voodoo Doll

Chapter XIII: Trust

"Why? What do you want me to do?" , the boy asked.

He lifted a palm to his heart. This time, he feigned an innocent look. "What is it that a powerless child like myself can do in this situation? And why aren't you doing anything, I wonder?"

"I--" , Aoki started to answer, her words seemed to get caught in her throat as she realized where he wanted to lead her.

Noah kept going. "You are like a mother to these children. Why aren't you looking out for each one of them ? If it was my own mother, she wouldn't stand here, arms crossed, watching me sacrifice myself." He pointed at the flames. "If it was my mother, the first thing she'd do is try to extinguish the fire. Second, she'll forbid me from moving as long as danger is close by. And third-"

He smirked, put an arm behind his back and willed his golden needle to emerge. He felt his blood condense into a fine thread, responding to his thoughts, wrapping around his wrist, forming a loose red bracelet. Better be ready for anything.

"She wouldn't want a stranger to go rescue her daughter for her."

That's right. Aoki's behavior was odd from the very beginning. She wasn't relieved to see Hitori safe and sound. She didn't do a single thing about the fire, apart from hugging the rest of the children tightly against her chest. The Orphanage wasn't in the middle of nowhere. It was Fukushima. It was still a city filled with people. Yet, not a single soul noticed the fire. Not a single neighbor came to help. How was that possible, despite the fact that both he and Hitori could see the fire from faraway in the forest ?

There were two plausible theories for this: Either it was all an illusion, or...

"You burned the house on purpose, then hid this whole area from sight, so that no one interferes." Noah declared.

He could feel the woman's body emanate heat, but he didn't care, he was on the verge of a grave discovery.

"You don't really care about Hitori, do you? You look awfully calm for someone who might lose two people on the same night."

Noah couldn't believe it himself. By coming here, they helped this wicked woman in her plan.

She used her own home as a death trap, her own child as bait for another. All along, she wanted to make Noah suffer by witnessing Hitori's death, and she wanted none other than to be declared innocent.

But... why?

Aoki's laughter, then, echoed loud and clear in his brain. "Not bad, Noah Redwood. You have figured it out. No wonder, you were raised by Agiel himself. Of course, you had to go ahead and kill him!" , she spat. Her eyes were the reflection of hell itself. She reached for one of the children, waved a hand on his face. Almost instantly, the little male closed his eyes, sinking into deep sleep. She, then, repeated the gesture on the rest of the orphans. "You don't want to see this, my dear children." , she whispered, her kindness coming back for a split second.

Agiel. Noah repeated. She knew my father.

The puzzle pieces were now clicking into place. When the boy left his home that night, he took away a life with him. And that life, he realized, mattered to others. All along, he and Hitori were wrong. All along, Noah was the one who was targeted. Noah was the one who was wanted dead by the hands of his father's allies. Honoka must have known everything. She must have come for the sole purpose of leading Noah to this place.

With his own will.

A fool. He was nothing but a fool.

The woman was now speaking under her breath. Bit by bit, her whispers grew louder, the words said under her breath turned into a pitch black sword in her left hand.

"I should have just tortured you instead of this useless plan" , she hissed, her voice now as hard as bone. "Did you really think you'd get away with hurting him? Do you have any idea what you have done?" Aoki lifted her sword, gripped it tight in both hands. The weapon responded to her hatred, its darkness gleaming red, its sharp edge dripping a scarlet liquid that Noah hoped it wasn't blood.

She started walking towards him.

So that's how I will die, he thought.

The inside of his mouth tasted of metal, and he realized he bit his tongue.

Strangely, in the midst of chaos, Noah's thoughts filled with the image of one girl.

Ocean-colored hair and honey gleaming eyes. A girl who promised him to come back. A girl whom he promised to protect.

Because he was needed.

The familiar feeling of fear crept up on him, for he realized the difference in power between him and the woman. But the boy with the colorless eyes and the midnight hair wasn't feeling the least defeated, wasn't shaken by any of the facts laid before his eyes. The racing beats of his empty heart, the thought of the girl on the other side of the flames were telling him something he never dared to say before now.

He wanted to survive. Not for himself, but for the only being who needed him.

He needed to survive, because he now had someone to protect.

And that was all that mattered.