I yelp and try to wrench my hand away from his grip but he tightens it while looking at me with his eyes full of insanity. Hiding my fear with rage, I take out my hunting knife and slit his hand. He yelped letting go of me and I seized that opportunity to run away but something grabbed my leg forcing me to the floor.
'Not this time,' I turn around with the intention of kicking him in the face but he lets me go and bullets rained on us shattering the mirrors.
"Forget the stupid mirrors," I heard Valarie say. "Destroying them is more like it!"
"YOU ARE GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT YOU KNOW!" Megami yelled.
"With what? My prize winnings?" she asked ruefully. "Where are you Emma?"
"Don't you dare harm her you b!tch!" Jake yelled.
"Or else what?" Valarie barked back.
As for me, I turn around the corner hoping to see Osana, but instead see robots.
Splendid!
I moved past them but they seemed to have seen me and I could hear the sound of rushed footsteps after me. The mirror's reflection showed there were three of them chasing me so I unseathed my katana and did a trick I learnt in a manga; run, turn back and attack them. The robots were not ready for the sudden attack. Therefore, it was easy for me to decapitate one of them and keep moving. However, they seemed to be catching up.
Suddenly one of the mirrors in front of me shattered to pieces and something whizzed past me causing an explosion. As a result of the impact, I was thrown forward into someone's arms and my side started throbbing.
"Found you again."
He looked at me with a grin as I quickly moved away and stared at him with fear in my eyes.
"This is fun Beloved," he said still wearing that sadistic grin. "Do you want to do it again Darling? We can kill the robots and the b!tch while we are at it."
"I WOULDN'T TRUST HIM IF I WERE YOU," Megami said.
"Shut your trap, b!tch!"Jake yelled and he turned to see the tip of my katana pointing at him. "Beloved?"
"IT LOOKS LIKE YOU TOOK MY ADVICE AFTER ALL. LETS SEE HOW LONG YOU CAN HOLD HIM OFF."
"Beloved, are you serious?" he continued to advance, but I stopped him in his tracks.
"Jake, for the last time, Let. Me. Go." I could feel the despair in my voice. "Let me Live my life."
He stared at me for a moment before breaking into a malicious laugh, "Without me Beloved? NEVER," then he took out a hunter's knife, "What did I tell you Darling, our love is god."
"THEN SHE'S AN ATHEIST."
I pose raising the blade a few meters to my eyes while he continued to toy with the knife. Irritated by this, I strike first swinging the blade at his head but he moved out of the way. I felt the coldness of the blades come in contact with my thighs and send a forward slash at him but that only shattered a mirror.
"This is going to be a lot of fun, my dear," he said as we fought. "I don't need to brag, but I only need this to take you out."
That irritated me but I kept my cool and attacked again this time, aiming for his legs. He did a back flip but I rushed towards him with the intention of plunging the sword into his abdomen. However, he blocked it with the tip of the blade and pushed me away. Back flipping a few feet away from him, I send a fast series of sword slashes at him which he blocked with hardly any effort.
'This isn't working!' I growl seeing him with the smug look on his face. 'Heck! There isn't a scratch on him.'
The smug expression on his face filled me with rage, so I unsatched my sword and took out two throwing knives instead.
"Oh, changing tactics I see," he chuckled and spread his arms wide. "Okay then. Come at me, sweetheart."
And I did with all the rage I had in me. In an attempt to scare me off, he swiped his knife at me. I moved aside and cut him on the legs, then made an attempt to slit his neck with both weapons. In time, he backed away, but I kicked him on the leg and tried to stab him in the chest with the knife. However, he grabbed my hand and twisted it away, causing me to let go of the weapon. I kicked him and rolled over, trying to plunge the other knife into his chest before allowing him to recover but he grabbed my hand, threw me to the ground.
Suddenly, the mirror besides us shattered showing two large blades striking Jake. He backed away and looked at his chest which had a huge X scare on it.
"O...Osana?"
She looked back at me with furry in her eyes. "What are you doing? You need to save your energy for Megami idiot!"
I was about to say something when Jake attacked. This time it was with a katana with a black blade. Osana used her twin blades to block his attack. Suddenly the mirror besides him shattered revealing two robots who jumped on him.
"Friend or foe?" Osana asked as they tried to pin Jake down.
I stagger to my feet. "Who cares? We need to get out of here!"
As more robots run past, I throw an arm around her shoulder and we leave. I kept my wits about me since Valarie was likely to come out of nowhere and attack us but we didn't see her.
We run until we reached another dead end. Taking a side glance, I see the worried look on Osana's face and I knew what she was thinking.
"We are lost aren't we?" I ask
She growled. "This is all your fault, you idiot! If you had followed me to the secret door you wouldn't have gotten yourself lost!"
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, tsundere but I am not born with eyes to see in the dark." I snap back. "And it seems you have forgotten that you are a ghost right?"
"Wrong! I am a Temporary Entity!" she barked.
"A what?"
"A Temporary Entity. I am bound to turn into a demon if I don't find rest and part of the deal to stay in this world is not to harm a human and not to be killed by an Imperial Weapon and he's wielding the Dark Blade."
"The Dark Blade?"
My question irritated her, "Gah! You are supposed to know this! According to legend, it was created by the Dark Lord and is capable of cutting through anything. With me being a Temporary Entity he could send me back with a single sword slash. You should know that! You are his girlfriend after all."
I was shocked by this piece of information but part of me wished she'd mentioned this sooner. As I sighed and bowed my head, she sets me against a corner and I start using my spirit power to heal myself.
"So let me get this straight, you are a Temporary Entity bound to turn into a demon if you don't find peace right?" I say after a few minutes of silence.
She nods.
"And why are you here?"
"Gah! Put the pieces of the puzzles together you dummy!" she said folding her arms and looking away.
It takes me a few minutes to fully understand what she wanted. "Ms. Fumestu right?"
This made her give me a side glance followed by a huge sigh. "For years in the spirit realm, I watched my family mourn me until the time of their death and my friends drown themselves in guilt. Kyuji feels my death was his fault and my best friend Raibaru is out there wasting her life away trying to find a way to apologize to me in person and for what? For leaving me alone because of an argument we had?"
I grunt. "Sure looks like it. Burning incense at your grave during your remembrance day wasn't a smart idea."
"Yeah," she turned to me, put her hands on her hips, and huffed. "And you aren't doing a good job helping her."
"Osana..."
"I swear if she sells her soul just to bring me back from the dead, I'm going to curse you for life! You hear me!" she yelled.
Staring at her pale forefinger pointed at my face, I threw her a nasty glare. "Maybe if you made things easier by telling me who killed you, then I can bring closure to her!"
"Idiot! I don't need...
We hear the sound of a machine gun followed by a maniac laughter which echoed through the room.
"Let's save the banter for later shall we?" I groan. "We need to get out of here. You know the way out right?"
She scoffed. "I did until you disappeared and got us lost."
I roll my eyes to heaven and think quickly. Having an idea, I take out a piece of the mirror from my bag.
"Here," I toss it to her and she catches it.
"What I'm I supposed to do with this?" she asked looking at it with scorn.
'Gosh! How I'm I going to explain this to her now,' I thought with a frown. "When you look into it, it shows you to where you want to go."
"Oh yeah," she looks through it. "I saw you looking at it."
I nod happy that she got the point.
"Didn't it lead you to death traps and spooky cabins?"
I flinch. "Now is not the time to doubt my decisions. We have to move."
However, she looked at the mirror piece again, and looked back at me. "I have a better idea."
"And what's that?" I ask.
She proceeds to take off one of her earrings. "I will use this...thing to find a way out and when my earing glows, you rub it and it will teleport you to my location."
I frowned. "That's a terrible idea,"
"Oh please, it's not like you can move fast in that condition of yours. I may be an entity but I am not strong enough to carry you."
Sighing, I lean back and look at my reflection because she had a point. "So, how are you going to find me then?"
"Here," she hands me the earring. "It holds my teleportation powers. When it glows, just rub it, and it can teleport you to my location."
I take a look at the earing then at her. So, what would I be doing when you are not here?"
"The thing you always do; survive."
And with that, she runs off leaving me alone. Leaning back, I think about what she just told me and bite my bottom lip.
'So he is wielding the Dark Blade created by the Dark Lord huh?' I groan as the injuries on my legs start healing. 'No wonder he didn't attack me with it. I would have been dead by now. Not to mention the kitsune told me about his determination to make me his. It scares me just thinking about it.'
"Beloved?"
My hair stood on end as the lights flickered and a cackle echoed through the room.
"Where are you Beloved?"
I stopped healing, got up and started running, only to turn round the corner and bump into Valarie.
"Sh!t!"
She opened fire from her machine gun but I moved out of the way.
"Hold still you little..." Valarie yelled but I kept running, sliding and front flipping as the mirrors shattered around me leaving shards of glass in my wake. Before she could fire at me, I pulled out a red arrow and shot it at her gun's nozzle, causing it to explode.
"Ugh! Look at what you did you jerk!" she yelled.
"What were you expecting?" I asked in a smug tone. "I guess you are out of guns huh?"
Crash!
The mirror behind me got destroyed and I started running.
I still have a hand gun you b!tch!" she yelled taking another shot at me but she missed. I continued my strategy of running and ducking until she ran out of ammo and she did.
"Beloved? Where are you?" Jake called out as the mirror beside me got destroyed. "Hang in there! I am coming to find you!"
I wince and look at the wounds that have yet to heal. 'Great! They are opening again!'
Then the mirror in front of me got destroyed showing Valarie with a sadistic smile on her face holding a hand gun.
"It looks like you are out of mirrors to hide!" she gloated.
"And it looks like you are out of bullets," I snap back knowing it was a bluff.
She cackled. "Well, let's see."
I put my fore fingers and middle fingers together to create a shield, but nothing happened.
Click!
Click!
Click!
The shocked look on her face was enough to secure my victory as I took down my shield with a grin. Not to be outdone, she took out a knife and attacked me but I performed a judo move which dislocated her shoulder.
"Gah! You b!tch!" she yelled.
I smirked.
"Beloved are you here?"
'Uh oh!' I run.
"COWARD!" Valarie yelled after me as I ran. "I KNEW IT! YOU DON'T LOVE HIM!"
I stop, sit down by the corner and continue to heal my injuries.
"YOU DON'T LOVE HIM AT ALL!" she continued to scream. "IF YOU REALLY LOVED HIM, YOU WON'T BE RUNNING AWAY FROM HIM! YOU WOULD HAVE TEAMED UP TO TAKE OUT THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THIS GAME!"
I had it with her. "Hypocrite! Don't act like you had good intentions for him! You wanted to buy him for a million yen!"
"YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST TAKEN THE DEAL INSTEAD OF LEADING HIM ON!"
"FOR ONCE SHE HAS A POINT!"
"WHAT?" we said in unison.
"SELLING HIM OFF TO A SPOILT BRAT WHO CRAVES NOTHING BUT ATTENTION WOULD HAVE SOLVED YOUR PROBLEMS WITH HIM. MAYBE HE MIGHT END UP FAWNING OVER HER LIKE HE DID WITH YOU." there was a pause, "UNLESS HE IS FROM THEIR BLOODLINE."
"STAY OUT OF THIS YOU B!TCH!" Jake yelled.
"YEAH THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" Valarie screamed.
"Besides, don't you know it is wrong to sell a human being to someone?" I ask.
"IT IS NOT A BIG DEAL IF A HUMAN BEING ACTS LIKE A LOVESICK ANIMAL." she replied.
Jake cackled. "I am going to kill you for that."
"YEAH! KILL HER BABY! KILL HER!"
What followed was a pause which ended up being awkward.
"Don't you f*cking call me baby. I am not yours." Jake growled.
"But why? We are meant to be together!" she cried.
This argument was getting us nowhere. Honestly, I didn't know if she truly loved him or was just trying to act like one of those characters who want to milk sympathy out of everyone. Suddenly, my heartbeat caused me to jerk forward.
'It looks like I have to stop now. "My head will spin at this point," I thought as I took out the earring from my bag. 'Hurry up Osana!'
"Why are you doing this Valarie?" I ask. Yes, I know its stupid, but I have to buy myself some time before Jake finds me. "You are rich enough to fund this game. So why are you participating in it?"
"ISN'T OBVIOUS, SHE'S BROKE!"
"What?" I ask.
"H...HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?" Valarie asked in a shocked tone.
"TRUST ME. I KNOW ALL THE SECRETES OF MY PLAYERS BEFORE THEY PARTICIPATE IN MY GAMES." she replied. "YOU GAMBLED AWAY YOUR LATE FATHERS MONEY BUT ARE DESPRATE TO LIVE THE LIFE LUXURY HE GAVE YOU RIGHT?"
I was shocked. "You gambled away his money within months of his death?"
"HEY! ITS NOT LIKE I AM A GAMBLING ADDICT?" she protested.
"But the money is already gone." I ask.
"S...SO WHAT?"
I couldn't help but chuckle but Jake laughed.
"I guess the high stakes game of Blackjack was enough to make you regret doing that right?" he asked between laughs.
Then Valarie began to cry or at least I think that's what she was going because is sounded too fake to be real.
Then I something struck me. "Jake? How did you know she gambled it away in a game of Black Jack?"
There was another pause.
"Oh Beloved, I was going to tell her myself!" he groaned.
"YOU WERE STALKING ME?" Valarie asked.
"WHAT DID IT LOOK LIKE?" Megami asked.
He started to chuckle.
"I KNEW IT! YOU ARE A CREEP!" she yelled.
The chuckle slowly turned into a full blown laugh which ended with a sigh. "Stupid girl. Why would I stalk you? You are a selfish, egotistical and stupid girl unlike my Beloved who is pretty, smart and flawless in every way."
His obsession and volume of voice were so close that I began moving to a different place to hide.
"Besides, I was the one you lost to."
I paused in my tracks.
"You go to your father's casino every Thursday night to gamble away his fortune. While the rest of the players were afraid to play against you, I was the only one brave enough to do just that." he chuckled again. "I just needed to lose a couple rounds to get your ego to show off and convince you to raise the stakes. You bet millions and millions of yen to prove your superiority at the table only to lose to me. How does it feel discovering your bank account was empty?"
His evil laugh echoed through the room and I could only imagine the look on Valarie's face when he said that.
"H...how could you be so cruel?" she asked and from the tone of her voice, I knew she was crying.
"IT LOOKS LIKE YOU FORGOT TO MENTION HE WAS THE ONE BEHIND YOUR KIDNAPPING." Megami said.
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO STAY OUT OF THIS?" Jake growled again.
"AND I BET MY TWO YEN EMMA KNEW." she added.
"SHE KNEW?"
As I held my tongue, I looked at the earring in my hand.
It was glowing.
"I am sorry Valarie. I had to take the burden." And with that, I gave it a rub and disappeared.
"Its about time!" Osana huffed as soon as I saw her. "Where were you? I was calling you for the last five minutes?"
'It felt like seconds to me,' I thought.
She stared daggers at me before giving me her hand.
I gave it back to her without another word.
Third POV
"EMMA?" Valarie jumped up in a hurry. "EMMA! I AM NOT DONE TALKING TO YOU! EMMA?"
"SAVE YOUR ENERGY! SHE'S GONE!" Megami snapped.
Valarie shook her head making her long pony tail whip her face. "NO! THAT CAN'T BE!"
"I AM NOT LYING."
"IF YOU AREN'T LYING THEN WHERE IS SHE?"
There was a pause. "TRYING TO FIND ME PERHAPS."
"PERHAPS?"
"THERE IS SOMETHING UNNATURAL ABOUT THAT GIRL THAT I CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON." Megami said. "I TRIED LOOKING HER UP BUT APART FROM HER BEING A STUDENT, NOTHING CAME UP!"
Valarie gritted her teeth in fury.
"BUT I DO HAVE YOU DATA. YOU ARE THE DAUGHTER OF A LOAN SHARK WHO IS THE OWNER OF NUMEROUS CASINOS AND HAS A NASTY REPUTATION OF HOUNDING HIS DEBTORS. THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY PAY WITH THEIR LIVES I'M I RIGHT?"
"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU KNOW ME!" Valarie roared.
"IT MUST BE PAINFUL TO KNOW THAT YOU LOST YOUR FORTUNE TO THE ONE YOU LOVE." She said. "AND I BET IT IS MORE PAINFUL TO KNOW THAT HE WAS THE ONE BEHIND YOUR FATHER'S MURDER."
Her heart sank when she heard that. "What?"
"HER 'UNCLE' OWED A LOT OF MONEY TO YOUR FATHER AND SOLD HER TO HIM TO PAY BACK HIS DEBT. HE'S LAST KNOWN LOCATION WAS AT THE APARTMENT BUILDING WHERE EMMA LIVED, AND SOMEONE CLAIMED TO SEE SOMEONE PUTTING GARBAGE BAGS INTO A BLACK VAN AND DRIVING OFF BUT DIDN'T TELL THE POLICE BECAUSE HE TOO OWNED MONEY TO THE LOAN SHARK."
Valarie felt her legs turn to jelly as she slid to the ground in shock. "You...you are certain Emma knew about this?"
"WHO KNOWS? BUT FROM WHAT SHE SAID BEFORE DISAPPEARING, I BET SHE KNEW BUT DECIDED TO KEEP THIS SECRETE TO PROTECT OU FROM HIM."
"THAT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING!" she yelled. "SHE KNEW WHAT HE DID!"
In that moment, her body began to shake with rage as every part of her made her wish she had never looked at him in the first place. Out of all the boys she had dated, none of them had the potential of being the perfect boyfriend. Some dumped her because of her 'attitude' while others refuse to bend over backwards for her even though she paid them to do so.
But Jake was different. While the rest of the boys needed the right ingredients to create the perfect boyfriend, Jake was already prepped. A tall handsome boy with excellent grades and poor social skills, along with the rumors of him being a virgin, she already imagined him as a tasty dessert ready to be devoured. All she needed to do was to kneed the dough, shape it to her desire, fill it up with the filling and put him into the oven to create her dream boyfriend.
Who would have thought this dough was already laced with a poison that would ruin her life?
But not any more. Standing to her feet, she looked up at the ceiling with a huge smile on her face and laughed. She laughed like never before.
"I'll kill her," she laughed as tears flowed down her face. "YOU HEAR ME JAKE? I'LL MURDER YOU! I'LL KILL YOU FOR DESTROYING MY LIFE! YOU AND EMMA! BOTH OF YOU WILL DIE FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU HEAR ME? YOU ARE DEAD! DEAD!"
Suddenly she heard someone applauding her and turned around to see Jake leaning on the broken mirror frame with his eyes closed.
"Bravo. So you want to kill me huh?" he finally looked at her. "What makes you think you will succeed in doing that?"
"I don't care! You killed my father and that b!tch knew! Both of you will perish for what you have done!" she growled.
"Emma has nothing to do with the murder you b!tch! Your father dug his grave by trying to rape her!" Jake growled, then he smirked. "And the part about me stealing your fortune, how else was I supposed to get rid of you?"
Her eyes widened at that.
"I wanted to kill you at first, but I decided to be merciful by draining your finances since that was the only power you had, but you continued to act like a cockroach running around a dark room while someone tried to sleep." he pointed the sword at her. "To top it off, you teamed up with that b!tch Agatha to make my Beloved's life miserable in school by spreading gossip about her and you thought I was too stupid to figure it out?"
Valarie had nothing to say to say to him and her eyes slowly showed signs of despair.
"What's the matter? Got nothing to say?" he asked with a smirk.
She knelt down and he took out his hunting knife.
"I'll make this quick," and with a quick swipe of his knife, her head dropped rolling a few feet away from him. As her torso dropped to the ground, he looked at the bloody knife and wiped it on his shirt. Suddenly the lights turned red and building started to shake. He could hear explosions coming from a mile away and closed his eyes in content.
'The whole place is coming down and my Beloved is still out there." then he opened them revealing a set of golden demon eyes giving him an x-ray like vision showing her location. 'I am glad I have this power. It helps me find you so easily Beloved.