Rhesus came from a humble family, a fallen noble clan that used to previously serve the chrysanthemum heirs of the throne, a family that ran the political world and protected the crown with their lives. The decline of their influence had struck after a new emperor usurped the throne.
He was the only one left behind of his family along with his frail mother and younger sister, both who had passed when he had come back from fighting on the front lines.
Grief and anguish were something that any man at that time was used to, an era of war and bloodshed .. the fighting seemed to come and go nonstop that they had run out of places to put the dead bodies of samurai, shoguns and other military.
They seemed to be on the losing side of the war.
Fighting for what? Their home?
Hokkaido was known as the holy land, many tried to taint it and claim it as their own and conquer Japan. They left not a single man, woman or child alive .. except one. It was when he was in search of any survivors of the rampage that he stumbled upon a woman. She was so still .. he was sure that she was dead, until she'd grabbed his leg, whispering quietly for help.
Yvonne .. he was enthralled by her. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. Even if greed and lust didn't contaminate his heart as it did for others .. their was something in her ruby red eyes that seemed to allow him to open up his heart for a woman like her.
In gratitude for saving her life .. Yvonne confessed that she was a witch. At first, he didn't believe her. Merely because witches of their time were not just rare, but evil. There were more bad than good of them, because of that, many of them were to be killed on sight. Fortunately, the woman was not one of them.
It was due to her .. that he had been able to rise as a hero in the war.
He who had found a purpose to finally begin pouring his soul into his blade .. until he became the sharpest sword of the time, the protector and defender that brought salvation, the morale of the army.
Rhesus was a simple man .. or at least that was what his wife called him. He had everything any man would ever want. Money, honor, a wife .. he had revived the legacy of his clan and fought upon his blade like divine retribution. A hero amongst all others, the one that swore his body and laid it down for their country.
"So you really can do anything .." He let out a sound of awe as the woman pounced on him. Her fur was a silverine white, almost like a siamese cat. She giggled and transformed back into her human form, laying on his chest.
"I long to be a human one day .. I don't want to be a witch anymore!" Yvonne declared, staring into his eyes as she inched her face just millimeters away from his own. Their eyes seemed to stare into the reflection of one another, never ending a glassy sky of mirrors. "Why not?"
"I have too many lives .. Besides, don't you think the village folk would be less scared of me if I was human?"
He blinked a few times in confusion. "Love, they aren't scared of you at all."
She tilted her head.
The man sat up with a light chuckle. "You're so beautiful .. that it makes it hard to approach you." The villagers didn't mind that she was a witch. After all, if the great hero Rhesus married her .. she was practically deemed harmless. Yvonne was a joy to have around. She was an apothecary, helping plant herbs and became the one that villagers went to in their times of ill, even creating potions if it was severe enough.
She prevented floods, brought great harvest and was carefree, light hearted as could be, like an innocent child.
She never had any interaction with humans until before him. The witch was distrustful for a long time .. but eventually warmed up to his advances .. his sweet words that she fell for over and over again, the promises they made that he kept unlike any other human before.
"I'm .. what?"
He had a good internal chuckle staring at her bewildered facial expression. "You may as well be the most beautiful maiden to roam this planet. Like the moon .. nothing else can compare." He peppered her face with soft gentle kisses that she just seemed to melt into.
"I want to live my life as long as a human .. My life is long in comparison to yours, Rhesus .. what would I do without you? I .. I don't know anything about this world yet." She talked so solemnly but he was still young, only in his twenties and married to the woman for a few years now. No matter how much she amalgamated into a normal human life, it wasn't the same.
"Will you feel lonely ..? That's alright .. I'll make sure to always be by your side that you won't be alone.." Yvonne was a witch .. but to him, she was nothing more than his beloved wife. There was nothing and no way possible that could describe the overflowing chalice of love and trust they had in one another.
Even the elders of the village whispered their love story to their children and grandchildren alike.
"Nyx?" The woman had questioned in surprise, rubbing her stomach. The midwife smiled wide at the name as he gently brushed away his wife's bangs from her face, the back of his hand provided a sense of comfort on her cheek as she intertwined their fingertips. "That's right .. how about we name her after the night sky?"
"As brilliant as the moon .. I hope she looks just like you. The endless infinity black sky that everyone looks up to at night .. the comfort, the solitude. She's going to be luminous."
Yvonne herself smiled a bit. "Rather me .. I hope she'll look like you .. so that I can always have a reminder of the happiness you've brought me." His clear amber eyes that were as radiant as the setting sun, the warm hues that seemed to bid farewell to the daytime .. and his obsidian black hair. It would be ironic if she had ended up with silver hair with the name of Nyx.
"We'll see." He pressed the softest and most tender kiss against her forehead.
No matter who she would look like .. Nyx would be so beyond loved .. her parents that quietly prayed and wished for her birth .. for her birth that would bring them so much joy, that would make them the happiest parents in the world.
They couldn't be more excited to bring their own kin into the world.
"My lovely, lovely, daughter .. Nyx." Yvonne cradled the child delicately. "Is she really .. our child? She's so fragile .. and lovely .." The woman whispered, careful to not wake up the infant who cooed in her sleep.
Their innocent gift. She was so tantalizing .. Rhesus fell in love with the delicate life and Yvonne fell in love with the gift that she and Rhesus had created together .. the child that allowed them to become a family.
"Of course she is." He used his index finger to measure out her small hands that gripped on his own as he brightened up, pointing to it as Yvonne let out an airy giggle at her husband's whipped reaction.
"Welcome home .. Nyx." Her father gently pat her back. It was so warm .. she was so alive.
"Oh my..!" The village folk all cheered for the young couple as they each took turns to stare at the baby who reached out to the sky. Her teethless smile that caused the lids of her crimson red eyes to curl like crescents.
"She seems to already be like you .. Rhesus. Look at her, already gripping onto things!" The old man had gruffly noted as Nyx grappled onto his pinkie finger, seeming to laugh as she was able to do so.
Everyone had fallen in love with the night sky, the one that seemed to have the stars in her eyes and the velvet blanket of night in her hair.
That same older man now stood before her. "Have you chosen? To die with your mother .. or live on for your father?" Nyx whose eyes seemed to have lost the courage of even living had still chosen the latter option as she gripped onto the man's hakama. He let out a scowl, dragging the girl along.
"She has decided."
The young girl stared up at the crowd in shock.
Was this .. how many people who detested her mother? "Must we let her live?! She's a witch! What if she ends up like her mother?!" The kannagi had protested, pushing through the crowd with her torch, staring down at the girl.
Nyx, for the first time in her life had gotten down on her knees.
She didn't say a word but the priestess scoffed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up to her feet. "Don't you die. No one is going to be responsible for you except you yourself."
"After this, Nyx .. you will be sealed away. Isn't that right?"
The young girl nodded her head with no complaints. She had no excuse .. no reason to go to the farshore. She had no reason to continue to cause her mother and father suffering. Nyx couldn't continue to be hated by her mother, even after she would die tonight ..
It hurt her heart too much. The burden that she had become. They deserved to continue their story together without her. Without the curse they had brought upon themselves.
It was around the time when Nyx was born .. When she had begun to be able to walk and speak that her powers as a witch manifested .. that Yvonne realized her powers were beginning to go away.
She was so happy, rejoiced, ecstatic even .. But Rhesus sat there dumbfounded, forgetting the shattered teacup on the ground. "Does this mean that .. Nyx will have nine lives?"
It was at that point that they had realized .. While Yvonne's lifespan as a witch would continue to shorten .. Nyx's would continue to grow. So while they would die in just a few decades .. she would continue to live for centuries. Their beloved child would be alone in the world .. all alone.
It was also around then that natural disasters had begun occuring again .. Yvonne had become too powerless, too weak and frail to be able to drain the waters of the soils or create heating and cooling spells to relieve the pressure of such ominous things.
The floods had begun to rot the wooden homes and sprout forth weeds and mushrooms, even overwatering the crops to such extents. House fires were no longer put out by a snap of her fingers and instead the people had to do it themselves .. but by then, the house in its entirety had already been burned to the ground.
So many calamities had struck them .. plagued by helplessness, Yvonne had become scorned quietly amongst the village people for no longer being able to be useful. People began to even question her medicines as an apothecary.
At a young age, Nyx had begun receiving education on her powers .. she and her mother had created voids and bit by bit, Nyx who had stolen the powers of her mother had begun to take on the tasks of Yvonne, becoming the one that the village people would go to for favors.
Rhesus was concerned, worried that his young daughter was growing up much too fast. He wished that they didn't have to use her and rely on such a small child who was still grasping the world, becoming influenced by all kinds of thoughts of others.
"You won't be cleansed of your sins .. because that woman is your blood .. but at least the world will no longer be plagued after this." And she was alright with being sealed.
It was actually her request.
"So in the end .. you humans and your true colors!" The woman before them .. was nothing like the one of five years ago or even ten .. Her alabaster white hair that was as pearly as the moon had dulled and matted itself like streaks of hay. Eyes that were scarlet and praised for being beautiful had faded and hollowed away into an oxidized maroon.
Even her skin .. her veins were blackened and the whites of her eyes had been tainted by some kind of charcoal grey ..
She had become something else entirely.
Nyx stood in the center of it all as everyone began to fight off the manipulated corpses. The corpses of their friends and family that they had all so clearly recognized .. the ones that were taken away by the grief stricken wife who just missed her husband and wanted him back .. more than her own child.
She became carnage in itself, mercilessly swiping out the throats and hearts of the humans who continued to get up and fight as the priests and priestesses, monks and mikos continued to heal them with prayers. The sound of whipping wind and the echoes of the scattering beads that rolled on the ground. Lightning and explosions ..
There was just a little girl that wanted to cry for her mother and mourn her father .. and give his body a burial.
"Give him back .. GIVE RHESUS BACK!"
"You're the one that needs to give his body back! You fiend!" A man had screeched. He was her father's friend .. they had fought together in the war, she recognized him. Everyone here .. all loved Rhesus.
Love? Why was love so strong?
"Because its unlike anything else. Like being scared or fear .. things that come natural to human beings .. love is like a passion. It gives people worth in something, almost like faith. It's transcendent like no other. But Nyx, love can be a beautiful thing, can't it?" Her father gently pinched her cheek.
The way he gazed at her with such care .. "So you love me .. papa?"
He chuckled, launching her up into the air before catching her in his arms. "Of course I love you. You're my charming little daughter. I love you more than anything!" Everyone knew that he did.
Nyx loved her father too. She loved him so much .. but in the end, he ended up leaving them.
It felt so betraying ..
If someone loved her so much, why did they leave?
Why did the woman she call a mother, who also swore to love her .. lie? Yvonne had forgotten she even had a real daughter.
The parents that continued to surround her with the words, the explanations and feelings of love .. they had been torn away from her, ripped out of the idyllic dream the young girl cascaded in.
"It was you witches that took him away! He could have lived a long life .. if not for you all!" Even though he had died in the war from disease .. The entire reason why her father had gone back into war in the first place despite being retired .. was because of Nyx herself.
It was because the emperor and the shoguns all demanded her presence in the front lines to help them clear out the enemy .. they wanted to utilize her magic. It wasn't just her, but other supernaturals as well and exorcists, but none of them were as young as she was. But the reason why he had discovered witch magic .. especially the lineage of witches that had nine lives .. was through Yvonne.
To protect her and her childhood, Rhesus had taken Nyx's place, much to the dissatisfaction of the emperor at the time.
Yvonne couldn't handle seeing her husband go away to war .. so she had gone to the palace and protested, begging and pleading for her husband's withdrawal .. but it had only ended up worsening the situation as the emperor sent him to the most dire place where the pandemic was breaking out.
It was out of spite to the witches who refused to offer their powers .. especially to Yvonne, an apothecary who specialized in medicines.
In the end, he had died because of them.
He had died for them.
"Why couldn't he have married a human?! Even his child .. why couldn't his child have been human?! You created another monster of yourself that got your own husband killed!"
It was because of Nyx's birth .. if only she wasn't born ..
"Nyx .. even you .." Her mother had finally locked eyes with a figure that seemed to stick out .. a small one, petite and scared as she took a step backwards, eyes wide open as the feeling of guilt seemed to plague her soul. She was shaking, tears welting in her eyes.
"Even you in the end .. continue to bring me nothing but pain."
The child that had been scorned had covered her own ears, the tears seemed to swell up.
"ALL OF YOU STAY BACK!" The woman let out a hiss. It didn't sound like one of a cat, but a demon as sharp fangs seemed to sprout from her canine teeth .. a long tail and even cat-like ears. She had created an invisible barrier separating her room and the dozens of people.
The corpses had stopped moving entirely, they stopped getting resurrected .. her mother had run out of magic power to fuel them.
"Yvonne .. just what the hell .. DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
"We have your child!" They all watched in horror as she set the edges of the room ablaze.
The woman only chuckled a bit, cradling the cold corpse of her husband in her arms. The corpse that moved, twitched just barley, stitched back together. His skin was rotting and deteriorated, blue and grey .. his eyes were sunken into its sockets but still hazily blinked ..
The effects of a necromancy that failed.
"Child? That thing .. is nothing more than the thing that had brought us misfortune! We were happy ... We were happy before we had that thing!" The silver haired woman had screamed, the bloody crimson red droplets seemed to replace her tears as they streamed down, leaving behind a discoloration on her pale face.
Nyx placed her hand against the barrier .. dispelling it. But what separated them was still a ring of fire.
Even that .. she stepped through it, enduring the scorching heat. "Please .. Mom."
The young girl touched her father's hand, only for the woman to slap it away.
The state of Rhesus's body .. it was as if an animal had torn it apart and messily sowed it back together.
He was mangled, his lips were crackled and dry ..
One of the exorcists had used the time that was stalled to put out the fire as they grabbed the corpse back from the woman, throwing her against the wall with an invisible force .. it was spiritual pressure.
"You have desecrated this land long enough!" Even though the witch wasn't on her last life yet .. she wouldn't have enough power to wreck anymore havoc in her next one. Nyx wasn't old enough yet to have taken away the entirety of her mother's powers, still leaving her with the semi-immortality that cursed them.
Yvonne had begun to convulse in a hysteric laugh.
Nyx hadn't seen her mother laugh .. or even smile in years. Not a genuine one at the very least.
The priests and priestesses held their hero's body close. His body that had been defiled and ravaged .. It was so hideous.
She and Rhesus had plans together .. they were going to live on a small bungalow on the coastline after Nyx got married and settled down. They would watch their daughter grow and would allow her to marry for love and not political reasons because they were already well off with money.
They were even planning her coming of age ceremony, what kind of gown she would wear .. how beautiful she would look ..
"ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴅᴇꜱᴇᴄʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʟᴀɴᴅ? ᴍᴇ ..?" The prayer beads that attempted to wrap around the witch had snapped as the exorcists let out a gasp.
"ᴛʜɪꜱ ʟᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍʏ ʀʜᴇꜱᴜꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ꜰᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ꜰᴏʀ? ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ? ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ, ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴍɪꜱꜰᴏʀᴛᴜɴᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ɢᴀᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴜᴘ ꜰᴏʀ .. ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴇ ʟᴇꜰᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ?"
"𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐄 𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒?!"
Yvonne couldn't forgive them. She couldn't. It didn't matter how much he loved these humans ..
She hated them so much.
In fact .. she would rather have them all die .. and atone for their sins. "𝐍𝐲𝐱 .. 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 .. 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰." Their eyes flew to her as she shook her head.
"I .. I can't .. These people all love papa ..!" Nyx cried out, clinging onto one of the miko.
Her father would be sad if his friends had died .. if the people he laid his life down for .. had died by her hands.
She couldn't do it.
"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 .. 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 .. 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬."
The young girl's heart .. the sound of a glass cup being tipped over .. all the emotions, all of the love and hatred had fallen to the stone cold floor cracked as it trickled down into a void.
An endless, pitch black void.
"𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 .. 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 .. 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬."
Nyx had never heard of anything like a trump card. In fact .. little to no witches were able to accomplish it due to not being powerful enough. But there were instances of it occurring before since all witches had the potential to awaken it,
When she had asked what her mother's was .. Yvonne at the time had only replied with a simple answer. "Nothingness." It confused the girl at the time .. but now she had finally understood.
What left the little girl's mouth was a scream as she hiccuped. Her chest was on fire, her lungs couldn't take in the oxygen .. her human heart was about to explode in her chest. Nyx watched as everyone around them had fallen. Everyone except herself and her mother who took slow steps forward, walking past the young girl and to the corpse that had long passed as she wrapped her arms around it.
Till the end, her human heart beat only for him until its last moments .. and him alone, leaving behind the black cat in the shadow.
It was after that moment that the entire holy land, Hokkaido Island's inhabitants had all fallen into a comatose slumber. Nyx continued to scream and shrill as a ghastly ashen air swirled the skies. She took steps back and the floor collapsed .. she took another step and then the fire from before had been reignited.
Misfortune was beginning to follow her ..
As she ran, lightning struck the trees, as she tripped and stumbled over the bodies that laid stumped on the grounds, demons had appeared from the bushes, eating the free meals left for them.
As much as Minamoto Teru attempted to reach out for the girl, close her ears and whisper quiet melodies into her ear and calm her down .. to cradle her into his arms .. he could no longer touch her. His existence had been denied by Nyx.
This was how her curse had begun.
The curse she had placed upon herself unknowingly from the guilt of being the cause of misfortune for her family.
This was Nora's misfortune that she had kept pent up, atoning for over two hundred years all by herself ..
This was what she had been hiding and living with .. His stray that had begun her life as Nyx .. Continuously taking on new identities, living new lives over and over until she was killed by humans to atone for her sins .. over and over again. Nora's unfortunate life ..
The house .. the sight of Nyx running and eventually disappearing into her void .. it began to break away. From the lightning strikes and the looming stormy sky, to the millions of comatose humans .. one by one, they faded as he stood.
Teru snapped out of the trance .. realizing that this was the power of the Red House, it was what Nora had warned him all about. "It's time .. I put an end to this."
His blade crackled with lightning. Just as he was about to pulsate a shockwave .. a voice addressed him. "If you go through that door .. you can leave .. but that witch will not leave with you."
He stopped, freezing, turning around .. there was a little boy that eerily resembled No. 7. Based off of the story Nora had told him about the house .. this was Tsukasa. The inhabitant that was stuck there and would continue to be so. Or at least it was his soul.
"Where is Nora?"
"She's in the farshore now." His eyes widened.
"The others will leave soon .. You better go now!"
Following his better judgement, Teru did. If Nora was in the farshore .. had she died again? It couldn't have been possible .. he could still feel the energy that connected them through the contract. Unless the Witch of the Void was dead .. then it would still continue to be active.
For some reason .. the time that had passed .. was much shorter than it had felt. The sun was merely beginning to rise, just only a few short hours had passed .. but in there, weeks went by. If he hadn't been an exorcist .. he would have lost his contact to the real world entirely.
All this time .. his witch ..
"YOU ALL WENT AND DID SOMETHING UNNECCESSARY!" The voice bellowed as Teru blinked in surprise before returning to his usual stoic expression. Akane however, was surprised and nervous after having been yelled at.
The old man they sat before was Nagisa, the head priest of the shrine, someone they had been acquainted with for several years now .. since the start of his exorcism career and Nora's. The geezer had hair that tinted with age along with a receding hairline and clear forehead marks. His right eye had a scar running through it, leaving it shut while his left was still open, revealing the crystalline azure blue eyes.
"My younger brother and his friend had gone inside to investigate .. and Nora and I went in to rescue them."
He thought he was going to have a heart attack right then and there after realizing that the black cat that was almost always with the young master of the Minamoto clan .. was not present.
"JUST WHAT HAVE YOU ALL DONE? THERE HASN'T BEEN CASUALTIES FROM THAT HOUSE IN YEARS! WHAT WILL YOU DO IF ANOTHER SERIES OF DEATHS COME FROM YOU PROVOKING IT SO CARELESSLY?! WILL YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY?!" He had been used to getting yelled at, often by his father and even Nagisa.
"DID YOUR GRANDMOTHER TEACH YOU NOTHING?"
Teru's patience was well built up throughout the years. After all, his father was a man who argued merely by speaking. So, with the pathetic innocent smile that he had practiced throughout all the years, "It's poor management on my part. My sincerest apologies."
Unfortunately, the old man didn't take the apology kindly. "This is something an apology will not fix. I'm reporting this to Daisuke."
"To dad?" Teru was surprised.
He hadn't seen his father in years .. many, many years. Especially not after his and Nora's taboo act of almost four years ago. He had forgotten that he had even wiped Nagisa's memories too ..
Even though they were just children .. they managed.
It dawned on him now .. how Nora was able to perform necromancy.
Now that Kou was getting back into exorcism, wanting to explore more into it and delve more into his powers, getting tangled with apparitions .. there was nothing they could do about it now.
Akane muttered a curse beneath his breath.
"Getting involved with that house so carelessly is inexcusable. That would be a clear violation of the contract between the Minamoto family and that witch if someone dies in that house! You should get scolded by your father once in a while, like the child you are!"
The door slammed shut.
The words rang repetitively in Teru's ear.
He hadn't felt like a child in a long time .. going to the arcade that day, being with Nora .. those were the only times he felt like he could have been a child .. after all .. those things were stripped away from him by his father in the first place.
"This door wont open at all .. The sliding door won't even budge even when I kick it! Are we locked in?!"
"What do we do president ..?" The boy had tried to continue and kick the door only to no avail, even putting all of his strength into sliding it .. but it was stuck. "Are you even listening?! At this rate, we wont be able to go to where Minamoto kouhai is-" Akane had stopped his sentence dead in its tracks as he stared at the blonde haired male on the ground.
He was sprawled out on all his limbs, staring at the ceiling. He rolled side to side.
"President ..?"
Teru let out a deathly sigh. "I'm just .. so done with everything, you know?" He was so haggard.
Not sleeping, not eating .. all of those things were fine, he was used to it.
But not having Nora by his side .. his troublesome brother and Yashiro Nene who didn't follow their instructions .. the messy severance that was becoming disarrayed because of No. 7's interference in stripping away the Wonders and their yorishiros ..
It was all too much. His summer break that was supposed to be free of apparitions ..
"That old man is a descendant of the Misaki family .. the same Misaki that is now a Wonder. That's why I suspected that the items that might have been salvaged .. or at least the most valuable ones, unlike the ones we had been finding, would be stored here."
"I thought I could use my position as the eldest son of an exorcist family .. to get him to show me all sorts of things .. but as per usual, this guy is hard headed .."
Akane knelt down to listen to his senpai rant. Teru didn't rant often, nor did he complain, not at all. Even though he helped his kouhai .. always helping out the disasters that occurred at the school in addition to slaving away as president and performing exorcisms, he didn't complain.
"These days, it's like nothing's gone well for me .. maybe except for Nora accepting my confession .. but now she's not even here."
"Even though we sacrificed our youth .. to defeat supernaturals for the sake of my family and to keep the town in peace .. all of those all nighters, late nights and injuries, naggings and scoldings .."
"And then my younger brother the other day asked what I would do .. if he became a supernatural."
"Even today, I thought what I was doing, was causing too much trouble for my family because my dad is far away ..? So I thought if I could be reasonable and polite to those elders for once .. I even acted all humble." He continued to roll until he hit the wall, and then rolled to the other side, allowing thumps to echo out.
"I really hate them. They're mean to Nora .. they've shunned and prejudiced her since the beginning."
Akane stared pitifully.
"Nagisa doesn't even listen to anyone anyways .. even though he's the one that neglected his responsibility for decades, always getting onto me about keeping Nora around .. Even despite her being a shrine maiden before he was born, he refused to acknowledge her as a priestess or even a miko .."
"Damn geezer!"
All of the years of pent up annoyance seemed to bite back now. His patience had finally snapped.
"So even you can act all indecent and complain, huh? Wherever did the eloquent and perfect, great student council president go?" The boy teased, taking a sip of the tea, finding clear amusement in the vent.
Teru eyed him. "That's right. I'm not even that nice, and I'm no model student either. Yashiro wants to meet with No. 7, and Kou seems like he has a goal in mind too .."
"And me? I want Akane-san to come back."
Akane's lips parted in shock. "President .. could it be .. that you actually have genuine feelings for Ao-chan?"
The boy had finally stopped rolling around, his forearm that had been covering his eyes had revealed themselves.
Akane had been worried about his small comments toward his childhood friend for some time now. Even how they got along it alarmed him.
But Teru's cerulean eyes .. they didn't light up when he mentioned Aoi. "I have a dream you see, Akane-san is someone who is necessary in my dream."
Akane, at the mention of his crush had froze. "What does that mean?"
"Nora .. Nora just wants to see all of her kouhai happy. She wants to save Akane-san earnestly .. Now she's in the farshore by herself. If it's her dream for you all to be happy, then it's my dream too .. If only I could care for you all as much as she did. Maybe then, I wouldn't feel like such a bastard."
"All I could ever need, all I could ever want .. is Nora and my siblings. That's all. Since you and Akane-san are intertwined in that .. it's necessary that I save you all. Even if its not entirely from the goodwill in my heart." Teru admitted. He wasn't ashamed of it .. or even smug about his selfishness.
It was just how it was. This was the person, the sadist and realist that laid beneath the perfect persona.
At the end of the day, he was also a simple person with simple desires. A family person, an older brother that wanted to shield and protect the three people he loved most .. from the world.
"If you don't get a hold of yourself, I'll go rescue Ao-chan myself .. and then I'll find the hag and I'll make sure to tell her how useless you were."
Teru had finally sat up, his face of exasperation had stretched into a cheeky smile and a chuckle. "That would be a problem .."
He could imagine the witch giving him a dirty glance and lecturing him about being inadept, probably insulting him while she was at it.
The blonde sprung to his feet, grabbing his katana and unsheathing it as he sliced the door apart to pieces.
"I was planning to be patient and persuade him .. but I give up. Nora doesn't have time for patience."