The cicadas' relentless song was a familiar one. Rika knew such a song all too well, the same one buzzed inside her. A deep humming, a constant ball of magnetic waves resting- no growing inside her. She sat in her hospital bed gazing out the window, the summer breeze was gentle and brought in fresh feelings of renewal and healing. Reaching up to her chest she breathed in deeply, feeling the slight trace of pneumonia still in her system. The ache was duller and easier to ignore now that she had been treated for a few days now since being rescued from the mountain.
"Come, Rika. Before you start elementary school I want to take you somewhere special."
Rika's father knelt beside her yet kept and odd distance between them. He hesitated for a split second before putting his hand on her small shoulder, he was trying his best to not show any outward negative emotions. Yet the death of his beloved wife lingered in his mind. Everything about her sudden death, her sudden...pregnancy after years of trying. All of it bothered him. It bothered him to his core. He couldn't shake this feeling his wife had opened a powerful door, one he wasn't sure if he could close. No, he had to close it. He had to, or else this...thing would go into the world in the form of a child. He couldn't let it happen. Rika's eyes were bright and full of energy, what kind of energy is something else entirely. She smiled a bright smile and cheerfully asked where they were going. That smile unnerved him, sending a chill down his spine and a cold sweat from his pores. He swallowed hard and put on his best attempt at a smile.
"We're going to a shrine." he said as his thoughts raced.
A sacred place, he thought. A sacred place will be able to contain whatever this thing is. Deep down inside he knew that even without a physical body this thing would lose no power. It had to be done in a sacred place, consecrated for the gods.
"Our family has visited it for generations." he lied, knowing full well the only reason he knew of such a shrine was because he had looked for the least popular one in the surrounding areas. Deep in her subconscious Rika knew exactly what was going on, but her conscious mind kept her in a childlike state unaware of her so called father's intentions. Rika wholeheartedly agreed, excited for a day out in the mountains. Yet it ended the way it did...why did it have to end the way it did?
Rika felt more confused than sad as she remembered what had taken place on that fateful day at the mountain.
The day was bright and sunny, the cicada were singing just as always. The air was warm and perfect for hiking as Rika pranced along in front of her father, somehow leading the way. Her father swallowed hard before asking her a vital question.
"Rika-chan...do you remember how mommy died?" he croaked out as his knees wanted to give in. Rika's smile faded slightly as she placed her hands behind her back and turned around, walking backwards facing her father.
"She drowned in the bath, right?" rika answered nonchalantly.
"I don't really remember a lot, mommy asked me how long I could hold my breath and i remember counting to 100 before..." she trailed off, looking up to her left as if trying to recall something, something her subconscious mind didn't allow her waking mind to access.
"I felt something on my head..." she said as she brought her small hand up to her head and behind it, slightly remembering the feeling of a hand being rested on her head as she lay beneath the water. Rika slowly continued walking until her father stopped. Rika looked up and realized she was in a clearing. She perked up quickly forgetting the dark topic.
"We're here!" she exclaimed as she rushed towards the barely kept shrine. It was a very small shrine, far up the mountain no one else was around for miles- no one would know if something awful happened up there. Her father dropped his bag as he led her inside the shrine.
"Oh, aren't we supposed to stay outside the shrine?" she asked aloud as her father slinked inside the shrine, steeling his nerves for the act of evil he was about to commit. Rika quickly paced after him, not sure what was going on but excited to see the inside of a shrine.
"Ive never seen the inside of a shrine before! This is so exciting! Do we have permission to be in here?" she asked as her father slid the door closed behind him. He lit some candles and sat in the middle of the shrine room. His eyes shadowed by the low light Rika felt confused as she noticed her father sit down.
"Rika-chan," he whispered as he beckoned her to sit in front of him. Confused but intrigued she sat in front of him thinking perhaps they were going to pray.
"Rika, how did you get here?" he asked, confusing her even more.
"You brought us up here?" she cocked her head to the side and her father tried to hide his grimace.
"Rika...you walked in front of me. The entire time." her father gripped his pants tightly as rika's eyes widened slightly
"Huh? What do you mean you showed me the way-"
"I didn't show you anything rika, not even a map." her father interrupted her abruptly as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Rika...you killed mom...didn't you?" he rasped once more as rika's eyes widened
"Wha-" she was about to protest when all of a sudden her head hit the floor. Her father's hands were wrapped around her tiny throat. Rika's eyes widened as she realized what was happening to her. Her father was trying to strangle her to death
"You..you are not Rika! Whatever you are...You killed my wife! You drowned her when she figured out you're not right. Theres...theres something WRONG with you!" he screamed out as the candles began to flicker and struggle to stay alight. The burning in rika's chest increased as she struggled for air. Her body began to feel cold before feeling like it was burn up inside. The feeling was foreign and agonizing as she kicked, flailed, and scratched at her father's arms and torso.
As if her surroundings began to resonate with her suffering, the doors began to open and slam shut, the windows began to rattle, the shrine tools fell over, the ceremony bells rang incessantly and violently. The entire shrine, no the mountainside began to quake. The ground under them shook as the shrine struggled to stay in one piece. That feeling inside of rika began to shake in unison, the cursed energy inside her beginning to spike and stirr dangerously as her conscious mind faded, her subconscious mind resonated with the shaking. The second she lost consciousness, her father was ripped off of her by an unseen force.
As he was pinned to the ceiling with crushing speed, his eyes focused onto a figure in the dark. Right beside rika, was...another Rika. But this rika was different, she was taller, thinner, and her skin was tinged a sickly ashy color. Horrified, he went to scream- but it was futile. This Ashen Colored Rika forced his mouth shut so fast and with so much force it almost atomically fused his bottom jaw to his top jaw, only allowing muffled grunts to be heard. Her hair fell in front of her face as she looked down at the normal rika, reaching down she brushed the bruises on her throat-
"Ugly....bruises.." Ashen Rika spoke in an untherwordly tone as if cursed energy pushed air waves differently when producing speech. Insinctually using reverse cursed energy this other Rika healed the bruises before ever so slightly shifting her gaze up to the man on the ceiling. With Only her right eye visible her mouth twisted into a grimace. All at once the man's body was pulverised instantly, every speck of blood being evaporated by the force at which she crushed him. Not a trace was left behind, no blood, no bones, no dust. Only his backpack he dropped outside the shrine. Satisfied with the disposal of the immediate threat Ashen Rika began to fade and flow back into Rika's body.
Rika remained unconscious on the mountain for two days and one night until she was rescued by shrine keepers who came to check on the shrine after the giant quake Rika's near assassination caused. The next time Rika opened her eyes she was met with a myriad of sensory information, everything seemed to be more intense, sounds were louder, the fluorescent hospital lights were near blinding. While attempting to adjust to it all, she could hear nurses scrambling to alert the main doctor that she was now awake. She assumed she was in the hospital, but was she alone? Where was her father? She looked around the room searching for him, but her thoughts were interrupted by a large male doctor walking in.
"Orimoto Rika, you're one lucky duck. We found you just in time, there was a large earthquake and subsequent storm on the mountain you were visiting. We found you unconscious in a shrine that had been struck by the storm. We also found a backpack containing a wallet with an ID belonging to 'Orimoto Xxxxx'. Was that your father? Brother? Uncle?" the doctor questioned as he read over her chart. Rika sat up slowly and looked outside before back at the doctor.
"He's my dad.w-where is he?" rika answered slowly as she formed her question before she could think about it. The doctor frowned and nodded his head in understanding.
"Well, like i said we found his backpack, but we're still looking for him okay? We haven't given up yet." the doctor reassured her as her body went cold. That feeling deep down, that her dad was gone forever, wouldn't go away. Hot tears began to prickle at her eyes then burn their way down her cold cheeks. That sinking feeling of knowing she was now an orphan made her feel even colder than the hospital room, a pit opened up in her stomach as she searched her memory for what happened yet she was only able to pull up blank spots. It frustrated her to no end, she knew only two things; one, it was supposed to be a happy, celebratory trip, and two it ended in something horrible happening and she was now alone. She almost didnt even feel the pain in her chest until one deep breath caused her to cough a nasty cough. Suddenly she could hear the doctors words again- she had pneumonia and needed treatment before she could go to school.
She didn't know how to feel anymore, it felt like the entire world was crashing down onto her as she sat in that hospital bed. And there she sat she doesnt know for how long. The treatments got fewer and further in between,and somehow the days seemed to blend together as she constantly looked out that window. Slowly she began to notice another hum, one apart from the cicadas or the fluorescent lights. This hum came from deep inside her torso, it was one she had never actively felt before- she sensed it every now and then before she went to sleep but now it was loud and noticeable. Rika didn't exactly know what this was, it was almost like a separate heartbeat in her torso. A separate cache of unknown matter and intentions locked away inside her body, it didn't make her uncomfortable, but she didn't know what it was. Like a flash of lightening something made her turn around as she heard a cough. As if a magnet had finally stumbled upon the north it was always pointing to. Drawing her attention away from the window for just once after these entire two weeks in the hospital, her gaze focused on a young boy in her doorway. She locked eyes with him and as if the planets and stars above them aligned something inside them both collided with such ferocity an unbreakable bond was forged in that very moment by fate itself. For once, Rika was compelled to get up from her bed.
She slid on her little pink slippers and held onto the iv drip pole tightly. Her heart fluttered as she slowly made her way towards what she felt and knew in her soul was going to be her best friend. Little did she know the young boy before her felt that very same compulsion as it is what lead him to stumbling upon rika's room. He had been hospitalized not long after her and felt an almost magnetic pull towards her room not even knowing she was inside of it.
"I- Im Okkotsu Yuta, I heard the doctors say they couldn't get you to get out of bed. I thought maybe..you were sad for whatever reason you may be here for.." Yuta smiled sheepishly as rika got closer and closer. A single thought dominated her mind and body, she had to get closer to him. This intense focus shut out all other stimuli she was utterly unaware she was about to trip over one of her own monitor lines. It caught her foot and yuta gasped, dashing forward almost ripping out his own IV. Yuta had little care for himself in the moment, so drawn to this young girl before him his mind knew no other action but catching her.
"Watchout!" yuta yelled out before quickly rushing towards rika, not only catching her but also steadying her and making sure she didn't accidentally rip out her iv.
"Don't worry i've got you! Is your IV okay?" he asked quickly as he slung her other arm over his shoulder. Blushing brightly rika felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest yet being in yuta's arms felt so right so never wanted to leave his embrace. Taking in his scent and memorizing his presence she decided to speak for the first time since she went silent after waking up.
"Im Rika! Orimoto Rika." she smiled brightly leaning on yutas shoulder instead of the iv pole, instead simply trailing it along as yuta supported her. From then on, Yuta and Rika were inseparable. Within 2 days of meeting each other both of their health conditions improved so rapidly the doctors thought it was almost abnormal. Chalking it up to the resilience of youth and with both of them fully healed Rika was released into the care of her reluctant grandmother and yuta went back home with his parents. Originally, Rika's grandmother did not want to welcome the child into her home. Being a superstitious and sensitive woman Rika's grandmother sensed something wrong with her supposed grandchild. She strongly believed the child was not only not the spawn of her beloved son, but somehow killed or orchestrated the deaths of her parents. Though with no proof, she had to take Rika in as her only living relative left. Subconsciously Rika picked up on the discomfort her grandmother had around her and thus spent a lot of time out of the house with yuta or his younger sister if she felt she needed some girl time.
Rika's grandmother knew that if she let that little girl live, awful things would happen. The power inside that little girl was too much to control, it was like giving a toddler the power to nuke a country if they didn't get that shiny toy they wanted. After all, Rika was still just a child and children are infinitely selfish until taught otherwise. The grandmother thought she was lucky Rika was too preoccupied with yuta to ever touch that latent power inside her until things began getting obsessive. Over time the two's love grew so immense there was very very little Rika would not do for Yuta. Even going so far as to listen to the inner compulsion to steal her mother's wedding ring from her grandmother's dresser and give it yuta. This unknowingly sealed the unbreakable bond between the two, tying their souls and destinies together in a way that not even death could do them part.