"Not all animals belong in cages."
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You woke up. Your head ached, it felt like your body had been dunked into the deepest pits of the ocean, only being pulled out when on the brink of losing your last ounces of breath. You were exhausted, but why? What happened? You looked around your surroundings, it was dark. So, incredibly, dark.
"Hanako? Nene?" You called slowly, your voice was raspy as if someone had tried to strangle you, maybe someone had. You looked around, even though you knew it would be useless. It was too dark to make out anything. Was there anything in the first place? Was it just an empty, black space?
Your mind was foggy, like there was a cloud of mist in your mind, blocking everything. Every memory, every moment, every thought. What was this?
"Ngh. . ." You heard a soft groan, its origins not far in front. You gasped, quickly scooting back, and eventually made harsh contact with something tall and sturdy, it stopped you from moving back any further, you assumed it was a wall of some sort. You heard breathing, it was staggered, not in pace. They sounded to be in distress.
Some of that fog started to clear from your mind. It allowed your eyes to start adjusting to the darkness. To your right, it looked something like a door, boxes lining the sides of it, and to the left, another wall, more boxes and equipment. But in front of you, a person lie, starting to shift around.
"Who are you?" You asked fearfully. The person groaned again.
"M/n?" The person eventually said, the male eventually said, sounding disoriented and tired. You recognized that voice.
"Hanako!" You said, a smile overcoming your fearful features, your voice rasped again from the sudden loudness. It hurt.
You started to crawl towards him, scared if you stood you would collapse immediately. Something brushed against your hand as you moved towards him, you swiped your hand away from it, holding onto the hand that brushed it as if it had been burned severely. You looked down at it, it didn't move. Your eyes were adjusting further and further to the room, and you quickly realized that the thing your hand touched was Hanako's hat. So, you gently grabbed it and continued moving towards the School Wonder.
Once reaching him, you handed the hat over but he didn't take it, still recovering from waking up. So, you gingerly placed the accessory atop his head, adjusting it so it wasn't lopsided. Hanako responded with a gentle nod and a 'thank you.'
"Are. . .Are you alright?" You asked slowly, cautiously, letting your vocal chords adjust for once. Hanako chuckled lightly, it didn't sound good, like he was in pain and trying to suppress it, failing miserably.
"Considering what happened last night, yeah, I'm just peachy," He responded sluggishly.
"Last night? Isn't it still night?" You asked, looking all around, no signs of light seeped into the room, just blankness.
"Well, she locked us in here, it's morning, but this place doesn't let in any light, unfortunately," Hanako answered disappointingly.
"Do you know where we are?" You questioned.
"My best guess would be some kind of shed," He answered while rubbing the side of his head, wincing a small bit as he did. "I vaguely remember, but I think a shed is where she dragged us to."
More fog started to clear. A sudden pain developed in your chest, it was faint but still there, enough for you to notice it. Things started coming back to you. You and Hanako were on a walk with Sumire, and Sumire attacked the both of you. You assumed she dragged the both of you here after she was done. Why didn't she kill you and Hanako when she had the chance though? You didn't want to think about it too much, right now you had to get out of here.
"Do you know how Nene's doing? Where she is?" You asked, suddenly remembering the poor girl wasn't with the two of you. You worried where she was at. At least she wasn't in the same bad situation you and Hanako were in. But still, you two were in here, and Nene was out there with Sumire, anything could happen.
"No," Hanako responded. You couldn't stand the thought of Nene possibly talking to Sumire right at this point as if nothing had happened, as if you and Hanako didn't exist. You stood, a sudden wave of anger and determination wafting over you. You marched mindlessly to where you previously thought the door was and slammed your hands against the wood, a splinter lodging itself into the web between your thumb and pointer finger while you felt around what you hoped was the door. You didn't mind the sudden pinch that developed in your hand, you continued to feel the door for the knob.
"It's no use, she locked it from the outside," Hanako said, shakily rising to his feet. He must've held on for a longer amount of time during the attack, he remembers a lot more than you.
Hanako took a few steps then stumbled forward, tripping over his feet. You quickly turned and moved to catch him. You held him by the waist and stopped his fall. He fell limply into your chest and stayed there for a while, unmoving and not saying a word.
". . .You alright?" You eventually asked, patting his back slightly. He grumbled then moved to stand. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He said, fully leaving your embrace. You stayed close to him for a little while, making sure he wouldn't fall again, then moved away once sure he wouldn't tumble.
"Is there an ax or something around here?" You asked, going back to looking around. Although you already knew you wouldn't be able to see anything wedged anywhere in this darkness, you still bothered to try.
"Why would she leave a way out of here with us?" Hanako asked, deadpanning.
"I don't know, maybe she made a stupid mistake or something. ." You responded, starting to not believe in your own words. Hanako sighed, "We would be able to teleport out of here, but Haku-Jodai isn't here." He said disappointingly, running a tired hand down his face. This wasn't like Hanako at all, proving how much this situation could escalate.
"Can't you just, I don't know, call it here?" You questioned, turning around and leaning against the door. Was it actually a door, you thought?
"Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. I need to know where we are for that to work," He explained, looking around the musty, dark space.
"Of course it is," You grumbled, annoyed and frustrated, rolling your eyes. Nene could be hurt, you can't see the extent of your and Hanako's injuries, and Sumire is still wandering around somewhere. All the worst things happening all at once. Great. Just, freaking, great.
"That looking for an ax option is still open," You suggested slowly. Although you didn't believe that there was something in here that was useful to get out, it wouldn't kill anyone to try and find something. Anything. You slowly started to stand and feel around the room. There were boxes all around here, there had to be something helpful in one of them, right?
"I guess we have no other option, I'll check the back areas, you the front," Hanako said, you could see his figure turn around and walk further into the darkness, his footsteps being the only indicator that he was still here, your eyes failed you to let you see him as he walked farther and farther away.
"Sounds good," You responded.
You were thankful the boxes weren't heavy ones, this would probably have been a lot more difficult if they were, and you didn't want to make matters worse by having Hanako help you. The both of you divided the work for a reason, you both were tired and wanted nothing more than to leave this etched shed-like thing. As of now, none of the boxes you've gone through had anything to help a way out. But there were still more boxes, and there were still more opportunities, so there was nothing left but to keep looking.
There were a few more boxes left for you to go through, you don't know about Hanako though. For all you knew, he could be done and lying around waiting for you to finish.
You reached out and grabbed a box, it was heavier and the cardboard at the bottom was soggy. It was gross to feel, but you didn't drop it. Instead, you quickly leaned down and placed it down, the inside contents made clinking noises. Was there glass in here? Honestly, it didn't surprise you, that if this really was a shed, anything could be stored in here. You flipped the flaps of the box open, cautiously reaching your hand inside. Your hand grazed over an object, that object must've hit another because it made more clanging noises. Yep, there was definitely glass in here. You closed the box in disappointment, there wouldn't be anything useful in a box full of glass antiques. You pushed the box to the lone group of boxes located a few feet behind you to the right, that was the pile of boxes you'd already gone through.
"Any luck?" You called to Hanako, moving to pick up another box.
"No, anything with you?" He responded.
"You want some glass plates?" You asked, smiling when you heard a low chuckle. "I'm alright, I don't think we'll be eating anything for a while now," He answered amusingly but tired.
"Suit yourself," You say, laughing quietly as you grab the next box, there were only about three left for you to go through. This one felt significantly lighter than the one with glass, like there was only one object in it. You placed it on the floor, doing the normal routine and flipping open the flaps of the box, reaching a hand inside.
Your fingers brushed against a surface that felt like polymer, with ridges and sharpened edges. You reached further into the box and pulled out the foreign object, squinting as you looked over it. The object looked familiar, was it a mask? It seemed to be so. Your fingers brushed over what looked like to be the nose, tracing it with your index finger. It reminded you of those masks the people were wearing when you first showed up here. Was that really all just last night? It felt like a million years ago. You placed the mask back in the box, shoving the cardboard into the pile of useless nothings.
Two boxes left, one of them has to have something, has to. Either that or Hanako would find something, you hoped for that, anyway.
Nothing but wishful thinking.
Box one of two, let's do this. You grabbed the top box, it was stationed atop the second one. This one was heavier, like the one with antiques. Please don't let it be glass plates again, you thought hopefully. Unlike all the other boxes, this one had a seal on the top of it, bound together with layers of tape. That stood out to you, why does this one have to be taped but the rest didn't?
"Hey, Hanako? Got that knife on you?" You asked, turning back in his general direction.
"Nope, Sumire took it last night." He responded, a sigh at the end. He probably misses his precious weapon.
"That sun of a-" You mumble, but it was cut off.
"Find anything interesting?" He interrupted. You looked back down at the taped box, "Maybe? I don't know, it's sealed with tape or something," You answered, scratching at the tape seal. You were ready to pry it off if you had to, but were your fingers prepared for it?
"Yeah, I don't have anything for that. Maybe just try ripping it? Maybe it isn't as sturdy as you think," Hanako suggested. So, risking the life of your fingers it was.
It was actually a lot easier than you thought it would be. It came right off the box, as easy as a worn bandage. Well, some parts of it were stubborn and held on, but you got enough of it off to be able to open the box without a struggle.
"Did you get it?" Hanako questioned. He must've heard the loud noises of the seal being torn away from the cardboard.
"Yeah," You responded, instantly reaching your hand in the box, hoping something good was in it.
Something sharp poked your finger, hard. You immediately ripped your hand out of the box, cradling the hand with the now-bleeding finger. Although it hurt and you could feel a trickle of blood run down your hand, this brought you hope. There's something sharp in there, it could be something useful. Carefully, extremely cautiously, you reached the hand that wasn't bleeding into the box, as slowly as possible. You didn't want to risk cutting your other hand. The object in here was obviously sharp, just grazing it cuts you pretty badly.
You felt the object touch you, but it didn't cut, it was too soft of a touch to do that this time around. You moved your hand around the object so it now touched the non-serrated area. You glided your hand along the dull end of the object, attempting to find the handle of it – if there was one in the first place. Thankfully, you were able to find it quickly. You took hold of the handle, slowly pulling the sharp object out of the box, revealing itself to you. You brought it close to your face, but not too close, trying to see it better.
"Hey, Hanako?" You called.
"Hm?" He hummed, beckoning for you to continue.
"Would we find use in a machete?" You asked like it was a completely normal thing to have a machete.
". .I'm sorry, what?"
"That's what was in the box, a machete." You clarified.
"How sharp is it?" He asked.
"Sharp enough to make a person bleed when poked by it." You answered. You hard shuffling from across the room, then footsteps approaching you. Hanako sat next to you, looking at the weapon in your hands. He brought a hand to his face, thinking.
"This could work." He said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. . .c'mon, we've got some work to do." Hanako stood, so did you, careful about the machete still in your hands.
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There was a little girl, sitting alone in the field of flowers and stone, crying, rubbing her red eyes.
But then, she wasn't alone anymore. There was a man, a young, nice-looking man, who stood next to the young girl.
"𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦." The young girl said, clear tears continuing to stream down her chubby face, running off and burying themselves into the soil, aiding the flowers. The man said nothing, so the girl continued. "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴," – She sniffled – "𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦. 𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴?" She looked up at the man, rivers flowing down her face. "𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦? 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦?" She asked, the smallest bit of hope sparking within her dwindling fire. She plucked a flower from the ground, holding it close to her, breathing in the scent of the flower, it comforted her.
"Yeah, I guess." The man replied. The girl's eyes lit up, despite his reply being indecent. She dropped her precious flower from the surprise of the man's answer.
"It's m'job to take care of you, after all," He spoke again. She continued to stare at him, taking in all his features. Clear brown skin that shined beautifully as the sun cast its warm rays down on him, dark colored hair and eyes, little horns poking out from his hair, pointed ears, a face she could never say no to. Her tears slowly stopped leaking from her eyes, now only droplets daring to trickle down. She reached her hands out and took hold of the man's, not taking into account his sharp nails that might as well be clarified as claws. The man looked down at her, and she smiled.
"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯."
And now, the little girl wasn't little anymore. She was older, and wiser than her younger self. But don't be mistaken, she wasn't that old, only a mere teen, still naive. Her bracelet jingled as she prayed to the statues she once cried in front of. And unlike that day of tears, she was smiling in contentment as she prayed, enjoying as the sun beamed down on her softly, as the wind carried her long hair up and down gracefully.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘢𝘮," She said to the man standing behind her, speaking for the stones with painted faces.
"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦?" She said, referring to the stone she continued to sit politely in front of.
"I mean, yes? That's what the Akane family does," The man replied. Although the girl was older, it was as if the man had only aged a day, his skin was still flawless, and the only new thing about him was the few inches taller he got.
The girl smiled sadly, her hands folding in her lap. "You're always so honest. But that's one of the things I like about you," She turned around, still sitting, and looked up at the man, who looked back down at her. It reminded her of the day they first met.
His face was so beautiful under the sun, his eyes showing every aspect of his being. There was so much behind that blank expression, the girl was lucky enough to be the only one to see it.
"𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦?" She asked. The man continued to look down at her, ". . .Does it matter?" He questioned back, "I'm only takin' care of you 'cause my master instructed me to. Nothin' more, nothin' less," The girl wasn't satisfied with his reply. "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘯!" She said, then standing and leaning against the man, her head falling gingerly on his shoulder. "𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦." She said.
"That'd be fine with me," He responded easily like it's something he's used to saying on a daily. The girl's eyes widened, and she brought her hands up to her now-burning face, it flushed with red.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶. . .𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵?" She asked, not believing her man's words. He looked at her for a second, then looked away. "Nah, I'm lyin'." He said passively after having a small amount of time to think to himself.
"You told me I'm s'posed to lie to you." He reasoned. The girl was taken aback, and suddenly angry with him.
"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵!" She shouted, storming away from the man.
The girl remembered the past. The past interactions with the man. Oh, the good times. But now, on her wedding day, she was in the crowd, watching as another woman walked down the aisle. She watched as the girl with white hair that slowly leaked to green at the end walked, disoriented, and confused, saying she was not Sumire, and that her name was Nene. But of course, they didn't listen to her, thanks to the real Sumire, who continued to observe.
"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥." She smiled sadly at the man waiting for his bride, knowing it wouldn't be the girl who showed up.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵."
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"No way in hell are you going to get me to wear that!" You shouted, red gushing over your features as you pointed revoltingly at the accessories in Hanako's hands.
"But you have to! There's nothing else for you to wear!" Hanako shouted back. He was holding two masks, one the males would wear, and the other a females would wear.
"I am absolutely not going to wear anything from Sumire's! I'd rather die!" You exclaimed, face flushed red from anger.
"But you're already dead. . ." Hanako stated, tilting his head. You crossed your arms. "Then I'd rather die a second time," You responded stubbornly. You shook your head, "Can't you find anything else?" You asked. Hanako shook his head, "I told you, this was all I could find, and it isn't that bad! This is for Nene's sake!" He reasoned, ushering the clothing Sumire would wear into your hands. You rejected it, "Why don't you wear it?" You asked harshly.
"Because I don't want to."
"So I have to pretend to be a lady because you don't want to." You said with a glare.
"Yes." He said. You grumbled, looking off to the side, annoyed. "Princess." You mumbled.
"Remember, this is for Nene. We have to save her but we can't go in there looking the way we do, we have to blend in and there's only one male outfit and one female outfit. It's not going to kill you." Hanako reasoned, apparently not hearing your comment about him.
Then why don't you wear it? you questioned internally. But then you thought for a moment. You needed to save Nene, and you didn't know how much longer she had, if any. There was no point in fighting over clothing. You weren't going to have to wear this stupid thing for the entirety of your life. You sighed loudly, "Let's just get this over with." You said reluctantly, grabbing Sumire's clothes from Hanako's hands.
"Great!" Hanako said happily, clapping his hands and speeding off with his outfit and mask.
"This is for Nene, this is for Nene, this is for Nene. . ." You chanted quietly, starting to put on Sumire's clothes. Would it even fit?
You walked out of the room and to where Hanako was, adjusting the weird traditional mask over your face. It was weird, different seeing him dressed in something other than his school uniform and usual hat. He was sitting on the floor, struggling with his mask. You sighed. "Out of everything you get mixed up with, it has to be the mask? Not the complex outfit?" You asked amusingly, shaking your head at the apparition. He looked up at you, "You look. . .Interesting," He said slowly. It was hard to tell what he was feeling, you couldn't see his face.
"I know." You responded blatantly, walking over to Hanako and kneeling in front of him, fixing his mask so it was centered on his face.
"There, now you look like those hooligans outside," You said with a smile, laughing quietly.
"Thank you. . .M'lady~," You couldn't see his face, but you knew he was smirking under that stupid mask.
"Drop it." You said sternly, crossing your arms over your chest. Hanako laughed. You shook your head, trying to hide the small smile that etched itself into your features.
"Alright, come on, we can't waste any more time." You said, needing to make the situation serious, who knows what was happening to Nene at this very moment? Hanako stood, and quickly, the two of you sprinted out the door, following the sound of a crowd in the distance.
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((First Person (Nene))
What's. . .what's happening? Everything feels so fuzzy. . .I feel light-headed. What was I doing before? Everything was foggy, I couldn't see anything! Who was guiding me? Holding my hand? Although it was hard to see, something was completely clear when I looked at it. It was on the ground, stones with brightly painted faces. Why were those there? Does it matter in the first place? I passed by them, my vision returning to its clouded state. What was going on? The fog clouding my mind won't go away like it's stapled to my brain, would I ever be able to see again?
Didn't I come here with people? Two, specifically? What were their names again? Where are they now? I looked to my right, nothing but clouded fog and grass, I could hear the crunching noises from under my feet. The grass must not be alive and green, but dead and brown. At least the fog didn't cloud my hearing.
"Please, this way Kannagi. This is the gate that will lead you to the other side. Your journey begins here, you will make your way to the home of the Gods." Who said that? The hand holding mine softly let go. I was still blinded but I already knew where I needed to go, it was weird. It was an instinct, but I didn't want to. It was dangerous, I knew it was. Why am I still moving towards the gate?
"Congratulations, Sumire-Sama." I repeated, "Congratulations." It sounds twisted. I raised my arm towards the sky, seeing a jingling bracelet barring my wrist, it was beautiful and loud.
It was so fast.
It was so loud.
It hurts!
The clouds faded from my mind. My eyesight returned to me. I was looking up at the sky, it was morning, and the sun was not fully awake yet. Noises of confusion were mumbled and said from behind me, but I didn't look to see who it was.
"What. . .What was I doing?" I mumbled to myself. I removed my eyes from the waking sky, looking down.
What the heck!?!
I scurried backward as fast as I could bear. This so-called gate they were talking about was a murder trap! A tall cliff ending with spikes at the bottom, made for sacrifices. Realization hit me that I was the one being sacrificed and I leaped further away from the cliff of death. "Where the heck am I!?" I shouted, looking behind me at the men and women wearing masks and nice-looking clothing. They were still mumbling.
"An Akane girl?"
"Rejected by the Gods?"
"This hasn't happened before."
"Are the Gods mad at us?"
One of the men stood, pointing an accusing finger at me, "You must be an imposter!" He shouted. Now I was angry. "I've told you this whole time that I'm not Sumire!" I shouted, remembering that as they were first guiding me, I was reluctant the whole time. Then I remember one of the females spraying something in my face, which led me to be disoriented. Tears were streaking my cheeks now. "What is going on? You call this a wedding!? You were actually going to kill me if I were Sumire!" I shouted, overwhelmed with fear and anger. Do all weddings go this way in this crazy place?!
A spear was pointed right at me. I couldn't think of what to do other than raise my hands next to my head, scared out of my mind. Who the heck brings a spear to a wedding??
"What do we do about this?" The man pointing the spear at me asked.
"Did it fail?" Another asked, a male.
"What happens to us? The village?" A woman asked, her words were full of worry, but the way she said it sounded like she was the most confident woman in the world.
"Isn't this girl good enough for it?" Another said, annoyed. "Just toss her through!"
"Yes! It's better than doing nothing!" A woman agreed.
"The Gods might still give us their blessings!" They were frantic now. Pushing further and further, I might just fall over the edge!
"Wait, please don't!" I said. Of course, as I expected, they didn't listen to me, too caught up in their fanatics. One of them grabbed my hand, an elderly man.
"Yes! You caught her!"
"Now throw her off the cliff!" They shouted. The man started dragging me to the edge. "Don't! Let go of me!" I shouted but the man didn't listen, he ushered me forward.
"Congratulations Kannagi." The man gruffed.
"Yes! Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!" I was so scared. Scared out of my mind. Scared out of my soul. Was I gonna die here?
"I object!" Those two words stopped the chanting, the man from pulling me. Stopping my death momentarily. The crowd gave way, and two people were running towards us, one female and one male.
"Stop this wedding now!" The woman shouted, waving her hand in accusation. Her voice sounded funny, like it didn't belong to her, a little too low to be a woman in my opinion.
"Nene!" The woman shouted again, ripping the ugly mask off her face. Or, should I say, his face.
"M/n!" It was really M/n! I pulled away from the man who still gripped my wrist, eventually slipping out of his grasp. I then attempted to push through the crows of crazed villagers, only for them to create a wall between me and M/n. No!
"Outta the way!" I heard another voice beyond the wall of people. And within moments, seconds in time. M/n was in front of me, hugging me tightly, Hanako standing in front of me with a smile.
"We're here!"
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"Some princesses do need saving."
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