The Whisperer of The Huge || Assault Lily: Bouquet [ON HOLD]

8: Bonding

This was the very first time you're hearing [F/N] speak of her family. Throughout the years of becoming friends and being together, she'd never mention or bring about her family — you know nothing of her background, but she knew all about yours. 

The thought of your first friend working side by side with G.E.H.E.N.A filled you with abhorrence, but this new retrieval of information brought your feelings to a standstill. You wanted to know what had happened and decided to take the risk of asking her, "What... happened to your family?"

The question was enough to emphasize her frightful eyes and doleful countenance. In a quavering voice, she spoke hesitantly, "They're all... gone. Do you perhaps know what the word 'Gehenna' means?" You shook your head, and the latter began to explain, "In Hebrew, it's translated as 'the Valley of Hinnom'. In that valley, children and people were burned as sacrifices to the Gods... And, that's exactly what she did to my family because I wasn't following her rules."

You lift an eyebrow, noticing the great emphasis on she and her. Who was [F/N] talking about? "[F/N], I'm really sorry, I had no idea that G.E.H.E.N.A did that to your family..." She shook her head in a frantic manner. "It was just her... Not G.E.H.E.N.A, but their daughter! Pl-Please, I don't want to talk about her..!" She begged urgently, her eyes were wide with dread and horror.

You've never seen this ghastly spectacle of hers — it was unnerving and heartbreaking for you to see her like this. And, you made the choice to put an end to her haunting past, apologizing once more, "I'm sorry for bringing them up... That was rude and careless of me; I promise to not do that ever again. But, that doesn't mean this conversation ends here, [F/N]. I still want some answers. What did you do to me during that day we faced that Dornröschen?"

The [E/C]-eyed analyst nodded her head in agreement. "I understand and I will tell you. It's a long story, so better grab yourself a drink or two before we start." You glanced through the glass-front fridge doors, spotting a variety of carbonated beverages. You leapt to your feet and sauntered towards the mini fridge, opening it to retrieve two cans of cola.

As you popped open the cool cans, [F/N] kicked off her story over the effervescence of cola. "I'm not sure where to begin, but I'll disclose what happened during my time with G.E.H.E.N.A... At the time, my family had been too poor to afford anything — telephones, shoes, not even one t-shirt, we couldn't afford any of those. All these years, we lived in abandoned apartment buildings and had to make do with whatever we had on us; we only had clothes and ourselves... We had nowhere and no one to turn to until we met this man that owned the research organization."

"This happened before you came to Japan, right? You were living in the states?" You opened the cabinets, exposing a line of drinking receptacles. You reached for two old-fashioned glasses and poured ice into them. "Y-Yeah... He was on a business trip and found us next to a supermarket. I'm not sure what he saw in us, but he offered us food and a place to stay in Japan. We were stupid and desperate, and we went along with him. My family and I were very grateful for his help; and all of us suggested we pay him back for everything. But," Tilting the two cans at certain angles, its sweet, rich, and fizzy substance cascaded down the glass. You could see its effervescent quality faintly shine in the light of the fire.

"I wish we hadn't proffered that... He said we could pay him back by participating in his organization, and we did. However, none of us knew of its infamous reputation for stooping to human experimentation to achieve its goals... And, onto your previous question about that day: as you can tell they resorted to unethical experimentation and inflicted serious injuries on me, but it somehow and somewhat boosted my abilities. But... my Rare Skill and capabilities are very... unusual for any Lily." You came back with the soft drinks — its beautifully pearled effervescence appeared to be long lasting in the glass. Handing [F/N] a glass, she lightly sipped at the brown sweetener.