Live A lie

"To deceive others, you must first deceive yourself"

~ Anonymous

Nobody ever knew how Roki Saarunga truly looked like.

Not now in the present and never will in the future, but sometime ago in the distant past someone might have caught the face of the real Roki Saarunga, only to forget all about it in a mere instant. Dirty blond hair, freckled cheeks, spindly limbs all combined with a pair of over-sized glasses and a dislike for crowds to make her an introverted student that was neither outstanding nor eye-catching.

"Average." This was the term even she used to describe herself.Academics, aesthetics, sports, while she might stay afloat rather easily in the middle percentile for all the fields of subjects, it had been made painfully obvious that she would never be stellar in any of them. Scientific prodigies, sports athletes, and school idols of all sorts came and go within the academy, staying even as short as only a year, but like a passing drizzle they left nothing of their thoughts behind and only a Roki Saarunga gazing enviously in their wake..

Unfair... so not fair... why do they get to achieve so much where many others have slogged and failed? Talent is not equal, a nagging voice drawled lazily in her mind, a reminiscent from a book she had read in the school's library during her tenure as its librarian.

And how true that quote was.

The underwhelming feeling that she felt when people had the obvious need to flaunt their strengths in public to establish themselves as certified "badasses" of the academy gnawed at her; the smug looks on those people's faces when they emerged from examination grounds all grinning from ear to ear frustrate her to no end. It was not that she did not try either but she could do nothing about it, for Roki Saarunga is average and never could hope to compete with the elites such as them.

Until one day, when her sanctuary gave her its most powerful gift:

A book.

On the powers of the psyche.

To be more precise, it was a title-less black book about the power of manipulation, of tricksters and deceivers and (pre-)cognitive reasoning. Many had once read it and dismissed it as a load of tosh. After all, who needs to learn paltry mind tricks and its corresponding foundations in psychology when one commands power at their fingertips? Yet, what was one man's trash is a young student’s treasure. After a brief scan-through she was firmly hooked and it did not take long for Roki Saarunga to make the book her bible. Like a fanatic she poured over its contents again and again with utmost zeal, making sure she drilled all that knowledge and concepts into her head. Soon after ensuring that, she then began to experiment with its teachings. More often than not she was caught in the process and the consequences were not pretty but the few tries that succeeded had left her with a feeling of exceptional jubilation. And thus, what was both affectionately and scathingly termed by both students and teachers alike as the "Great Pranking Era" began in Kami Academy.

*****************

The Trickster sat with her legs folded in, eyes closed. Meditation is strongly advocated by what she had coined The Tome, needed to achieve the clarity of one's own. As usual, the Library is mostly quiet and the scattering of students that littered the area were content to read quietly and not disrupt the peace. Those who dare to would have their names taken down to be added to the already-long Pranking List to await their turn for some hilarious retribution.

Indeed, this is how Roki Saarunga rebel against the social order. Not competing toe-to-toe with the strongest of her generation, but with her bag of tricks and her wits about her. Take that, Inequality! Take all those blessed with your ridiculousness and bugger off.

As she ranted and railed and plotted and schemed, Roki failed to notice she was falling asleep.

"^$& had came."

"She? Who.. @!^ Finally, #$%@ to get this @$$ off our sk&&."

"Can *(& free us?"

It took a while to refocus but when her vision came trickling back, Roki was greeted by a wide-arcing plain. Right at her front an apple tree stood with its lush canopy and enormous crown. However, what was more eye-catching than this gigantic tree is the boulder that had been erected near it as she instinctively neared the site. Bound to the stone with thick tangling vines, three feminine figures writhed and trembled as a vicious serpent towered over them on the boulder's tip. Poison continuously dripped from the snake's fangs towards the trio below and where the acidic substance made contact, an ugly burn wound boiled into existence before being healed as quickly as it had appeared. It must have been a lot of pain, but the most they did were to winced. It was as though they had been used to this, and that generate much horror on how long they had been undergoing such torture.

She would have asked where she currently was if not for the serpent. Right there and then, it is staring right at her with its beady red eyes. With a gulp and a grimace, Roki found her voice to speak as she futilely tried to shake off the snake's creepy glare. "How... how can I help?"

"Cut the #*$!15#@ vi&* and $^@ us!" The prepubescent kid demanded, just as the busty female with started yelling into the girl’s face. "Nonon#!4( kill th% fuc@$!*5 $nake first!"

"What?" Flat. What.

"&*##$ems th%@ $^e &*$not hear u$." Her voice is full of static... and disappointment. The figure clad in beige and green then shivered and spoke no more, a sudden slather of poison disfiguring her beautiful face beyond recognition and speech. Subsequently, the snake turned to the other two bound females, its obsession with the intruder gone.

Roki on the other hand, is utterly confused. Is this a prank of some sorts? Why are there these people being tortured here? Where is this place and what is she doing here? This place seems like something out of a ridiculous dream.

Maybe it is...

And then, Roki Saarunga was rudely woken up from her state of rest.

"Roookiiiiiii!" a rather high voice came from a fellow student of the academy. This was a fairly young girl who had been accepted, though at a surprisingly young age for a student to be admitted. This girl's hair was a bright pink, complimented by her eyes that were of a slightly darker shade of pink.

"Wake uuuuuuuup! Class starts sooooooon!" Her high pitch was aggravating to most people. They always feared her screaming as they did the sound of sharp metal against most any other kind of smooth surface. "You don't want to miss first class do you? Wake up wake up!"

She was getting gradually more annoying.

"Come on come on come ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!" She was displaying the text book overly bratty child she was.

"We have to go noooooooooowwwwwwww!"

"Huh? What?" The Trickster opened her eyes, only for a heavy screaming thing to deposit its weight upon her back, expelling her breath and almost breaking her spine all at once. With an instinctual retaliatory heave, Roki pushed back to throw the annoying interrupter off her poor back before swerving around to give the girl a piece of her mind.

"Damnit." She broke into an irritated yell. One of the good things about being librarians is that they could shout where others could not, namely here. "Stop screeching into my ear or I will boot you out!"

"This Library needs no banshee around." Roki firmly declared with a threatening glint in her eyes as she stared directly into the girl's own as if daring her to do just that. Who is she again? Soki? Saki? Oh... Seki. Seki the Windwailer as most of the student body in the academy had taken to calling her which she thankfully is unaware of. High grating voice that irks one to no end with its endless repeating nonsense, the girl had somehow made it her life-mission to annoy the -beep- out of Roki. If only she could just excommunicate her peace would return to her life, but Roki feared that doing exactly that would make her one of the arrogant elites that she had so despised.

"There is no classes today, Seki." Roki finally sighed. Being a patient accommodating person is such a chore. "It is stated there in the schedule okay? I am taking my time off here. Since it is still morning there is not much people around so I decided to catch some shut-eye." She explained, slowly and clearly as though talking with a retarded child.

Although that might had been something to do with her shenanigans. A faint memory revealed that she had replaced Seki's timetable, which makes this encounter all the more damning. Urgh, and cutting off that weird dream with her...

Her what exactly? Meeting anthropomorphic personification of her dream whom she could not hear properly sounded so much like one of the meetings with your inner subconscious mind that the Tome had talked about. If that is truly the case, then Seki had just wrecked a good opportunity.

Roki groaned. Bite her ass indeed.

**********

It was only after a long while of insistent persuading and desperate coercing before Roki Saarunga managed to shake off Seki, all the time sustaining pitying looks from the current Library dwellers that had started to file out after witnessing the dawn of the Wind-wailer upon the once peaceful place. Nobody wants to stay around any longer than they could, and she is no exception.

Thus, Roki is currently sitting beneath the shade of a tree in a hideaway corner far from prying eyes, after making a poor excuse about being needed somewhere before dashing off. She sighed. Having wasted off the morning of a rare break-day entertaining the idiosyncrasies of one Wind-wailer, whatever mood she had to doing something 'constructive' had been destroyed. Right now, she is just content with lying around and slacking the day out.

Until of course, her current sanctuary is rudely invaded again this time by no one else other than one of the local 'prodigies' around.

Karu Karende is what the academy teachers all cooed The Blade Genius, with capitals. Besides beating each and every student of his batch and beyond in his subjects of expertise, he is also his namesake and the top star of the fencing association in the school, bringing in much accolades and awards in the school’s name. This makes him the target of much envy and blatant boot-licking from almost everyone in the school, even the teachers themselves.

The fact that he is currently alone without his annoying ever-present troupe is surprising to say the least.

"Oh.. uh... I am sorry. I didn't know the place is occupied." the handsome browned haired boy sheepishly said, breaking the silent monotony of the hideaway. One good look at him is all Roki needed to know why Karu is the subject of much feminine worship. Perhaps it was because she had never associated herself closely with such celebrities, but that day was the first time Roki noticed how his wavy hair flowed in the gentle breeze, and his perfect features shone in the sunlight to the point of artificiality. For a moment there, she was held entranced by the friendly smile the boy had shown, no, dazzled her and her heart almost...

No! What in blazes is she thinking? She despised this type of people the most! These people who never worked for anything but yet gets everything, they deserve to get their comeuppance at the hands of...

"Uh... you there?" Karu was waving his hands to catch her attention, which she presumed was because she had dazed out in front of him. Now he would think she is another of his crazy fans when she was anything but."I will leave now if I am bothering you."

God, that sickening polite tone.

"No. It's okay." She found herself saying. "There is enough space for two."

Roki smiled in return to Karu' relieved face as he sat himself down on the other side of the tree. Of course, why would she not? This is the perfect chance for her to serve some well-deserved retribution and The Blade Genius is going to regret ever seeing her in this place, ever.

"You know, I thought this place was going to be my secret when I first chanced upon it a few weeks back. It is such a nice place just to chill out and relax."

Why would he even want to seek a reprieve from his high-flying life was beyond the Trickster.

"I am sorry for intruding. If you ever want me gone, just tell me and I will be out in a second’s notice."

Is that sincerity she detect in his voice? Roki inwardly shrugged. She ignored him anyway and he seems to be content being ignored, instead entering a meditative trance of sorts.

Thus, this was how it came to be: Every day without fail, Roki Saarunga would escape to her hideaway, only for Karu to pop up sooner or later with his sheepish smile and courteous manners. Sometimes, he would even be there already before her, lying beneath the spot he had so frequently occupied with a content look on his face as he enjoyed his nap under the cooling shade. Everytime though, he would be seen with a muffin or two and soon enough, Roki would even discover a muffin at her spot when she arrive, perhaps as a peace offering from the boy.

At first she was suspicious and adamant not to try anything from the "elite" but gave in one day only to find out that the treat was absolutely delicious. Not that she would admit it in front of him though and thus nothing other than polite civilised greetings occurred between the two of them as usual. Until one day Karu suddenly brought up a very interesting question to the Trickster.

"Uh... excuse me?" With his form abruptly looming over her, Roki almost wanted to shoo him back to his spot on the other side of the tree on grounds of attempted outrage of modesty when she caught sight of his face. The look on it indicated that he had been wanting to say whatever he is going to say for some time now and she suppose she could entertain the boy genius for once.

"Yes?" Roki curtly asked, turning her head the other way. She might have relented just a tiny bit, but it does not mean she had to be all nice and dandy. Somehow, Karu took the response as a cue for him to sit down beside her, infuriating her to no end. She shifted herself slightly away in silent defiance, and the boy flinched.

That however did not deter him from his original intentions. "Umm... I know this sounds weird but do you have any idea regarding a butterfly knife with the initials R.G.M on it? I kind of lost it and I needed it back..."

Roki only raised an eyebrow in response. So that is what he is looking for. Coincidentally, she suppose she might have something to do with it a while back when she had conveniently relieved the prodigy of its weight. He is a rapier-wielder, so why would he need a knife for? And a butterfly knife too, that thing is pretty dangerous. Right now, it should be sitting in one of her shelves gathering dust by the moonlight. "Nope." She lied to his face. Serve the guy right.

"It had been really ... weird. Funny things keep happening to me, and my stuff kept going missing. Just awhile ago, my uniform mysteriously had a hole in them for no reason.” Boy, the look of distress on his face is absolutely delicious and he never once suspected her.

"I think I am cursed somehow..."

If not for the fact that she was facing the other way, the gig would have been up there and then. There is no way she could explain the smirk on her face if Karu had seen it and this is getting too fun for it to end now.

"That knife... it was from an important person. For me to lose it is... unforgivable." There was a change in the tone of the boy's voice, and Roki could not help but notice his knuckles clenching up till they are white. His handsome face was scrunched up into ... bitterness? Anger? Roki had no idea. All she knew was that the atmosphere is turning uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry." Karu softly spoke after a period of uneasy silence. "I had been rambling ain't I? It must have been really awkward for you to listen me like that."

Roki was stunned. By the time she had recovered and turned herself around to properly face Karu for the first time, the boy was already gone from the hideaway, leaving her alone again to ponder over what had happened.

"It's... just a knife right?" She whispered to the rustling leaves.

For a few days after the incident, Karu was conspicuously absent from the Hideaway. Soon enough, he was back with an air of awkwardness about him. It took a few more days after that before the Trickster finally relented and decided to give the knife she pilfered back. Surprisingly, people she had gone around asking were either oblivious to the fact he had a friend with the initials R.G.M. Not even the most hardcore of his fans were aware that Karu had friends. Either they really did not know, or they were just patronizing her.

So when she had laid said knife at his spot before the boy arrived and was roughly shaken awake moments later, she was unprepared for whatever is about to transpire. Roki was so sure that he would had connected the dots about her stealing his prized possession that she was absolutely surprised when The Blade Genius gave a cry of "Oh my god." and hugged her.

"Thanks! Thanks for helping me find it miss..."

"Roki, Roki Saarunga." She found herself giving away her name, still in a perpetual daze.

"I'm Karu. Karu Karende." Roki then felt something wet on her cheeks. Did he... did he just kissed her? "Nice to meet you, Saarunga-san."

"I... uh... Nice to meet you."

And that, was how the two of them formally met each other and became friends.

*********

Although Roki became Karu' friend, she is still technically not. The muffins, the times they spend underneath the tree in the hideout comparing homework and discussing life, they were all secret. None other than the two of them knew of this friendship, and Roki was pretty fine with that. Whenever they met each other outside the boundary of their sanctuary, she had never spared a single glance in the boy's direction nor initiated a single conversation.

However, it is not the same for the other side and that began a series of trouble that Roki could not wait to forget. At first, Karu had approached her in an attempt to talk, but immediately faltered as the atmosphere grew eeriely cold with all the murderous glares given in Roki’s direction. It was fortunate that he read the situation then and wised up to his fangirls' killing intent but it was not enough to save Roki from the numerous harrassments from various "well-meaning" parties that followed after Karu publicly took interest in the average her.

Instances of threats became fairly common. Occassionally, the jealous bitches included various degrees of bullying and violence, fuelled by the fact that they were mercilessly pranked and made laughing stock by an unknown personel only a few moments before.

"I am sorry, Roki-san. They are really getting too far." He softly said one day in the sanctuary as he watched the Trickster tenderly nurse herself.

"It is okay." She hissed in reply, pressing a wet cloth onto that swollen bump on her cheek. "If you try to stop them, they will just become more..." Roki trailed off, Karu suddenly right infront of her and staring right into her eyes. She instinctively held her hands up infront of her in case he would suddenly assault, but all the boy did was to push away her wet hair and caress that part of her injured face. "No. It is not okay." he said, before pulling her into a hug. When he broke away, there was a muffin in her hands.

Here was the person who had fished her out of her solitary unnoticed world, who caused much grief and hurt to her by just simply talking to her. She could have slap him there and then or throw the muffin in his face as a form of payback no matter how small. Yet, ba-dump, was all Roki could do. She stared back into those doeful eyes, eyes that wished they could do something to help, while her heart started to race.

She did not even notice when Karu muttered another apology and left the area, only staring dazedly into the blank space in front of her as her mind kept recounting the closeness of his features and the scent of his breath. And the muffins. Yes, the heavenly muffins he always seems to produce. She vaguely wonder if she should pay him back with some food of her own.

That night, Roki Saarunga could not sleep.

Tossing and turning in bed, all she could think of was the scene back in the day in the hideaway. All she could see was his face... his eyes... his lips. All she could hear was his voice, until a second joined her mind.

"Stay away from him, you bitch!"

That voice, was that of the leader of the bunch that had pulled her into a toilet for a "nice little" integorration session.

"We won't have you seducing our Karu-kun, slut." Then, the sound of flushing toilet and a slap accompanied their cruel laughter.

"Consider this a warning from us. " The silhouette of a snake fluttered into view, speaking in the voice of the bully, forked tongue streaking in and out with venom.

With that, she was back in the plains, with the snake and the three spirits wirthing in agony at their respective place. This time however, only the serpent was talking. The others.... had no face to speak.

Paruparupauparuparuparuparuparuparu.

"Do you envy them, girl?"

To the Trickster's surprise, it was not the hissing sound usually associated with snakes. This voice was much deeper than that. Composed but with a sinister undertone, it gave her a very weird feeling. Seeing that Roki had made no move to reply, the serpent asked again, bringing that unknown emotion to full force.

"Do you envy?"

"The talents.

The appearances.

The abilities.

The attention."

"The freedom to talk to him."

It was then one of the disfigured figures struggled exceptionally forcefully againt her bonds, as though voicing her soundless, utmost disapproval.Yet, Roki paid her no heed, for with the serpent's words she finally realised what is that emotion that plagued her.

Jealousy.

Ever since the day she resigned to her average fate, she had always and always envied others. Why she could not have nice things? It was a thought that had always lingered in her mind and with every attempt of denial, she buried her burning and yet impossible desire in its depths.

Paruparuparuparuparuparuparuparuparu.

With all her heart she wanted to scream a yes to the being’s words. However, she could only manage to gather up her spirit to ask. "Who... are you?"

And the answer was immediate.

"I am you and you are me. One of the many parts of your soul. I am the hatred born from our jealously, the resentment you try to cover by settling payback with your... pranks." It swivelled its head to one of the smaller figures, surveying the tortured spirit condescendingly. "No doubt an idea from the Child."

Poison dripped from the serpent's fang onto the ground, causing the grass beneath it to wither.

"Soon, the Mother will suggest to cook for him and the Lover might even tell you to make him yours." It sneered. The him it refered to was obvious.

"But I can tell you. They won't work."

If snakes could laughed, it would have chuckled right then.

"The only way to get rid of your jealousy, is to kill."

Kill.

"The only way to make things fair."

"Him,

others,

or yourself"

The bound trio were very obviously struggling to break away from their bonds now, to reach out to the bewitched Roki and break her from the serpent's trance. Their face were even regenerating quickly, grotesquely rearranging their features so that they could speak. The snake on the other hand, did not seem to care, for it already had the girl firmly under its grasp.

"N*#!!!. Do^'t, 1$!ten to i)!!

"And listen to you then? Look at you pathetic creatures, you can't even talk to her properly let alone  tell her what to do outside of your shenanigans. Now begone!"

With a splash of venom, the three females were silenced once more, leaving alone Roki with the snake in the eternal world.  

**********

The next few days, Roki Saarunga lived in a perpetual daze. All she could think of is what the snake in her garden had told her - to kill. But Roki knew deep down that she might never be able to commit such a hideous act, for she has neither the heart nor the skill to harm another person. Maybe she could… Roki quickly shook her head to clear it. To entertain such a dangerous thought had sent a shiver down her spine.

Ha. So not only is she just average, she is also a coward as well.

Coward… Roki could not help but feel ironic that she detest being in the other far end of the spectrum more than she detest being in the middle. She was indeed jealous after all.

“Alone, little slut?” came an unwelcomed voice. “Remember your warning? Or do I need to help you do it?”

Frankly speaking, Roki had no idea why the bully kept pestering her. Every single time they met, she made it a point to remind her with a cruel sneer and her posse will imitate the same action of forcing something under. It is not like she could not have gotten the message the first time round. The only rational reason why she had been so persistent was that she is a cruel bastard faced with a pushover of a lamb to the slaughter, reveling in the role of a predator to a prey.

A coward indeed, Roki bitterly snorted.

The next moment, she found herself gargling in the toilet bowl again, the overtone of the butch quite audible over the sound of gushing water.

“Come on.  Snort at me again, you bitch!” She seemed very much infuriated and it sort of gave Roki some satisfaction at that fact. Shortly after a while, the girl was finally pulled out by the roots of her hair, right into the snarling face of a livid woman.

“Go on. Snort at me! Just try it!”

With that, Roki was roughly dunked into the water again for a second round. It went on after that for a while and Roki lost count long she had been alone in that toilet with the monster of a girl. When she laid in a crumpled heap against the filthy wall drenched from head to toe and faint from asphyxia did she know that the torture was finally at an end.

The bully was panting slightly. Perhaps even she had a limit to how long she could keep giving someone the swirly. “Stupid bitch.”  

“Next time remember to respect your betters.” She spat, christening her work with a spit before turning to leave.

Yet, it was not all. That last sentence had tripped something within the Trickster. She had endured all the bullying. She even endured that demeaning spit on her at the end. However, Roki is damn sure as hell that the asshole bully in her presence right now was not her better.

Never.

Roki Saarunga got up from the floor and lunged at retreating back of the detestable person in blind rage. There might have been a yell, but she could not remember. All she could remember was that there was a mad grab for control and a sharp pain on her head as she was slammed into the hard reishi wall. Then a penknife was suddenly sticking out of her side and the last face she saw before she collapsed into darkness was that of Karu Karende.

*********

“I found her outside that toilet, sensei. There was someone who exited before her but I could not get a good glimpse of who it was.”

“Thank you Karu-san.” So… the teachers were on first name basis with The Blade Genius. “We would be able to find out who the assailant is through the information you have provided.”

Then the sound of the door being closed echoed though the room. Roki opened her eyes to the concerned face of the resident Blade Genius of the academy.

“Hi…”  She started lamely, only for the boy to shush her and motion for her not to speak.

“I am sorry, Roki-san.” There was a sincere apology in his eyes. “I know it is my fault that this happened. I already got the teachers finding who almost killed you.”

“If only I had gotten them to stop.” Berating himself seemed out of place for a genius like him. “Then you would not have been hurt.”

“Sometimes I had wished I was not some prodigy or something, and then maybe this kind of thing won’t have happened….”

By then, Roki was not listening. How cruel can the world be? A talented man like Karu wishing he was ordinary and yet there are thousands who wished they were like him, she herself included. Roki knew that Karu was not trying to mean anything with that but…

How… unfair.

How hypocritical he had sounded.

Like so many others before him.

Her mental tirade almost cascaded until Karu pulled out a muffin and presented it to her out of the blue. In an instant it was therapeutic, the faint aroma blowing away all her inner lamentations to the wind. Perhaps the world is not fair and never will be, but for that very moment of time when the time of that hospital room stood still, she shall enjoy that delicious offering with a kind young man gently smiling at her from the side of her bed.

It was a few days before Roki Saarunga was discharged from the hospital wing, and another day before she felt well enough to attend lessons once again. It was currently that she found herself struggling to follow the lecture due to her having missed the last few days’ worth of content.

“This math problem here is a second order derivative. Anyone here can show me how you solve it using Taylor’s expansion?” The instructor asked.

A number of hands instantly shot up, eager for recognition. One of those was of course the current top of the class. Roki, on the other hand, was not concentrating at the slightest.

“Roki!!! How are you?? I heard you were staaabbed!” Woe be her that she got pestered by the Windwailer in lessons that she desperately need catching up on. “Did you see who did? Does it hurt? Can I see the wound?”

Ouch. Did she just poke her tender spot just like that? That little brat-

“Do you need help Saarunga-san? You were absent the last few lessons after all.”

It was lucky that an assistant instructor came over at that moment because Seki was seriously grating her to the point of implosion.

“I am sure your friend does not like that, Seki-san.” The assistant, Uyusei Kano pointedly commented, causing the Windwailer to smile sheepishly.

“Do you need help?” She kindly repeated, making Roki realize that she had yet to answer.

The Trickster nodded, prompting the other girl to quickly guide her through the formulas. “You see, this needs to be here…”

The lesson flew by and soon, it was break time. Giving Kano a small muttering of thanks, Roki exited the classroom with Seki right on her tail. She was about to make up some kind of excuse to break away from the Windwailer when Roki caught sight of a familiar person making way towards them.

“You…” The bully hissed through gritted teeth.

Roki chose not to reply, coldly staring at the person who gave her a stab to the abdomen.

“Bitch, you had gotten me into so much trouble that it is not even funny.” She shrieked.

Roki only smiled back, prompting the raving girl to burst into a rage. “Suspension! And for a month! It is thanks to you here that I am going to graduate later than all of my friends….”

Roki’s eyes narrowed, the ranting all but blocked out of her mind. So in the end, her assailant was only punished by a paltry suspension.

This girl in front of her that was gesticulating like a madman, she was from a noble family was she not? Being the scion of the Kinkyu house would certainly explain the leniency she received from the superiors above. Roki shudders to think what would have happened if she were to stab this pompous princess instead, for the punishment then would definitely not be as light.

“…. to a duel of honor!” The Kinkyu girl righteously finished.

“Huh?” How did that happened?

The Kinkyu girl only stared with a look that could have killed. It was Seki that helpfully explained the context. “She wanted to duel with you, Roki-chan…”

A… duel?

Oh.

Roki Saarunga suddenly felt like laughing. Is that how those nobles settle the wounds to their egos nowadays? Is that how they can emerge from a scuffle that nearly took the life of a fellow schoolmate and still be righteous about it because their pride was hurt? Being a person in high places surely entitled you to some nice privileges.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“No th…”

Make her pay.

It came again, her inner darkness billowing from the depths of her mind.

Now is a good chance to get back at all she had done to her.

“Very well.” Roki corrected herself. “How about now?”

Judging by the stunned look on Kinkyu’s face, it seemed that it never occurred to her that Roki would accept there and then. Not that she is one to back down either. “Fine!” The other girl spat, her arrogant tone noticeably deflated, but still full of vitriol all the same. Roki one, Kinkyu zero.

“What is going on here?” Uyusei Kano asked, snapping the tension immediately. The sight of two girls staring each other down in a faceoff and another smaller one hiding behind one of them just reeks of nothing but brewing trouble to her teaching senses.

“Nothing.” The Kinkyu girl coolly answered, although the relief in her voice was showing. She then brushed aside the petite assistant instructor with a look of contempt and briskly walked past Roki. Her words to the Trickster, though in a whisper, were as clear as day.

“Tonight, clearing west of the library building. We will decide the duel content there.”

Roki only smiled.

As luck would have it, that was her territory.

*********

Night falls soon enough, though it did nothing to silence the Windwailer by her side as she trekked to the meeting place.

“Roki-chan! Don’t do it! It is a trap!”

“She won’t be so stupid to try something else again.”

“What if… what if something happen to you?”

“I will be careful, Seki. So stop nagging me. Besides, if I don’t go, I will look like a coward.”

“But it is reeeaaally dangerous!”

Roki Saarunga stopped in her tracks and turned to face the small girl.

“Listen, Seki. If I am not back in about an hour, go find Karu.”

Karu of all people would know where she is. Karu would know what to do.  And Karu is the only other friend she have, however sad that sounds.

Seki reluctantly nodded in acknowledgment and ran off back to the academy, leaving her all alone in the darkness. Under the light of the pale moon, Roki briefly wondered if this was the right thing to do before she resumed her passage to the appointed place.

Before long, she reached the clearing that was her peaceful hideaway.

“Good evening.”

And she was greeted back by none other than a rustling of leaves. Stoic black faces of three hulkish men surfaced from behind the shadows and stared into the Trickster’s shocked features. Roki had expected Kinkyu to play dirty, but certainly not to this extreme; those men were specially trained guards employed by the noble houses to protect their very safety and grounds. To think that someone of such high standings would mobilise them to satisfy her wounded pride was beyond her.

A sidestep just in time barely spared Roki from being skewered by the sharp end of a katana. They could not be serious… could they?

“I will have my revenge, you bitch!” The sneering face of the cheat was eerily frightening under the pale moon, but Roki was too busy running to even care.

It is just not possible for her to win against three professional fighters on her own, leaving only one option open to her - to flee. They might have realized what she was doing, for one of them suddenly dashed to her front and lashed out.

“Grrkh!” Roki cried. A scar painfully seared itself across her left cheek as the weapon narrowly missed her eye. With this, all bets were off. That Kinkyu girl laughing under the shade at the boundary of the clearing really was out for blood.

Her blood.

A haphazard kick was all she could manage in retaliation, hitting him square in the groin. Yet even as Roki scrambled for the katana that the man dropped, the other two immediately closed in leaving her no choice but to retreat back to the center of the clearing for a better vantage point. Only that she was too slow to do so.

Roki bit her lips when something sliced her hamstring, causing her to tumble onto the cold muddy ground. Turning back to face her attackers, it was a mere split second later when her sword hand was impaled mercilessly onto the ground. It took all she had not to scream in pain as Roki desperately struggled to pull out the offending blade, but her assailants offered her no such reprieve. A shoe came down upon her head like a hammer and forced the Trickster to the ground, while a hand picked up the sword that she had dropped.

“Well, that was too quick.”

The blade was soon by her neck.

“Nobody would miss someone like you if you were to disappear.”

There was nothing she could say that could make it less true which was exactly why it hurt, so much more than her wounded hand. Tears were already starting to well up in Roki’s eyes as both mental and physical pain took their toll on her.

“This hair…” A sharp pain coursed from her scalp as her captor pulled up her hair. “I should cut it.”

With that, Roki’s face fell back into the dirt, the tension holding it up gone. Her glasses cracked at the impact, like a wound of humiliation to whatever was left of her dignity.

“This face… I should scar it.” A sharp pain sliced across her other cheek.

“Now you look so absolutely terrible, bitch.”

It suddenly struck Roki how ridiculous the situation was as she laid there. Not once had she heard Kinkyu called her by her name. The girl probably did not even know who she was and yet here she was, lording over and torturing her to no end over something she herself had started. When will this retarded and pointless feud ever end?

When you are dead. The voice of realization hissed.

Kill or be killed.

Come. Take me.

Unleash me.

“Wha…” A knife flashed, Roki’s other hand pulling it out from her pockets with killing intent. The sudden motion lacerated Kinkyu’s arm.

Rip. Blood. Tear. Flesh. Kill.

Roki effortlessly dislodged the katana from her hand where she could not before and held it up at the noble girl.

“Fuck you…” She whispered, the crazed gleam in her eyes so perturbing that her torturer lost all sense of composure. She attacked, slashing sharply downwards with a bloodlust-filled fervor, drawing yet another bloody gash on the bully.

“G-get her! Get her now!”

At their injured mistress’s command, three shadows converged on the lone girl.

So it shall be this night her average existence finally end. Deep down inside, Roki briefly wondered if this was what she had been looking for when she accepted the duel back then. Perhaps she had been searching for someone to kill her all along because she was too cowardly to do it on her own, but it did not matter anymore does it? She could only hope that her next life would be much more outstanding than her current one. Death is nothing more than a sweet release from her current pitiful self.

Yet what is this twinge of regret she felt?

Regret that she could not have been better. Regret that she was to die and nobody would have cared. She would disappear and the world will still carry on without her.

“Nobody would miss someone like you if you were to disappear.”

No. She did not want to die like this! Damn the heavens that gifted her nothing! Damn the world that made her average! Damn the society that fostered this inequality! She did not want to die…

Average.

With a one last act of defiance to her attackers and the society that had wronged her, Roki gathered up all of her remaining strength to swing her weapon. She missed.

She failed. There was no escape.

There was only impending death.

Only that death did not come.

At the very moment she was about to be impaled, a shout rang across the clearing followed immediately by a familiar figure hurtling through the air and slamming one of the three guards out of the way. Using the momentum from the blow to stop, the person then positioned himself in a protective stance in front of her and blocked the remaining two blows – one with his rapier and the other with his body.

“K… karu- kun?” Roki dared not breathe.

Her savior turned back to her and flashed a pained but winning smile. “Seki-san went to get me.”

At the mention of her name, the Windwailer appeared by Roki’s side and propped her up. It was as though a huge burden was lifted from her shoulders.

It does feel nice to have someone to lean on sometimes.

“Roookiii! You are hu…” Whatever she said after that Roki Saarunga did not hear, for exhaustion took hold of her abused body and she fainted clean away.

*********

It was the second time that she was admitted into the hospital wing, but this time however there was only mental exhaustion, some bruises and that gaping wound on her palm to worry about. Her cheek scars were mending nicely and she could always regrow her hair. The healer had assured her that there are no lasting damages and that she would be out of the hospital bed faster than the first time round when she had a hole in her abdomen.  

“Rookiii! You cannot believe how cool Karu-sama was! Wham! Bam! Hiiiya! Ha!  And another one is down for the count.” Seki pumped up her hands and exclaimed with enthusiasm, causing annoyed stares from patients and healers on duty within the ward.  As per usual, she did not even seem to notice and carried on with her excited chatter.  

Roki smiled, pretending to find interest in the Windwailer’s story. It must have been the twentieth time she had heard it from the girl. What actually happened was far less cool. Karu was still too outnumbered in the end. Even with his reputation as the Blade Prodigy, it still took Karu some grievous hurt in the process of subduing his opponents. From what she had heard from the doctors, there were multiple open wounds on his body when they were both brought in. Nobody would tell her any more than that, but she knew Karu was in a far worse condition than she was.

Those men were no joke after all. They had no qualms about ending her life. If Seki had not gotten hold of Karu, or worse, came alone Roki was sure that the world would have been rid of two of its unwanted inhabitants by the end of the night.

As for the Kinkyu girl herself, she had escaped after Roki wounded her, leaving behind only a bloody trail as testament to her murder attempt.

A pity.

Roki flexed her injured hand as she watched Seki bound about emulating an epic duel between the last assassin and the Blade Prodigy that never happened.

She had actually managed to strike back.

Does that elevate her to someone special now? Does it mean that she is no longer… average? Everything seemed to have been an elaborate dream that she could not dare to believe - Seki being a surprisingly trustworthy friend and Karu saving her like a shining white knight. It was as though the world had heard her rage and relented in its harshness.

Seki crashed into one of the stands causing a healer to berate her but Roki did not frown disapprovingly like the others did at the sight; she giggled instead. The Windwailer had kindly told her the location of Karu’s ward and she had made up her mind to visit her savior later. Maybe she should make him something to eat in return for all those muffins he had treated her all these time. A cake perhaps? Karu is bound to be pleasantly surprised.

For now, she is content to rest, for all is right with her world.

********

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five. This should be the one.

Roki nervously held the cupcake in her bandaged hands like a sacred offering as she dallied by the doorway, unsure if she should go inside. Would it seem weird for her to enter with the intention of giving foodstuff like this? Did she look terrible with her all bandages and injuries? She should really get her broken glasses fixed soon, that crack in her line of vision sure is distracting. What if Seki told her the wrong location?

Oh, this is getting so embarrassing and difficult, even if Karu stayed in a private ward.

Deep breaths, Roki Saarunga. You can do this. It will be as simple as “Hi Karu-san. How are you? Here is something to thank you for saving my life back then.”  Then she can follow up some small talk about life and such before taking her leave. Simple. And maybe she can ask him out for a date.

Nononono, what is she thinking? There is nothing between them… right?

So why exactly is her heart beating like crazy?

Any efforts to calm herself down was to no avail. At that current moment of time, it was the first and only time Roki wished that Seki was around just to give her an impetus to enter the ward. If only, she could be half as thick-skinned as the Windwailer…

A sudden familiar aroma caught her attention, immediately followed by the opening of the ward door. A beautiful lady gracefully exited the room, bringing the scent of freshly baked muffins with her. Locks of silky raven hair, exquisitely embroidered finery, flawless features, she extruded an aura of grace and regality that the Kinkyu girl could never hope to match - This person is true nobility.

Something important started to gnaw at the back of her mind, but her breath was held by this mysterious girl she never seen before. Roki could only stare in awe as the girl turned and walked away with her beautiful locks flowing behind her without even acknowledging the presence of the Trickster.

“We are ready for your departure.” A person dressed in servant attire greeted the girl at the end of the hallway with a deep bow. “Rikka Ginmaki - sama.”

Then they were gone, leaving Roki behind in their wake.

After what seemed like a full minute, Roki finally regained enough of her senses to dazedly push through the ward door. Then, the gnawing feel came back in full force.

She froze.

She froze as Karu turned away from the muffin held in his hand to look at his next visitor.. She froze as he put the entire basket of muffins on his lap away. She froze as Karu gave her a warm smile and beckoned for her to come in. “So, it seems you have met Rikka.”

The affection spoken in that last word shattered any little bit of denial Roki had.

R.G.M

The thud of the cupcake as it impacted the floor was the only indication that Roki Saarunga had been in Karu Karende’s room.

*********

A pity.

Roki cried.

A pity indeed.

For the entire night she cried and cried into the pillow, but no matter how much tears she shed, she could not drown that wrenching feeling in her heart. All those things from before, the muffins, the smiles, and the time they spent in that secret haven.

It was all a lie.  

A lie she made up to deceive herself. A wishful thinking that ultimately came back to haunt her. She had hoped, hoped for things to change, that perhaps someone would like her and see something special or worthwhile in her. She had hoped so much that when someone came and showed her the slightest amount of affection, she mistook it as something more. In the end, it mattered little how she had felt. The world will go on without her. His world will go on without her.

It was the bitter truth.

When her tears ran dry, her mind was numb. There was neither sadness, nor distain. There was only resignation. Roki Saarunga laughed bitterly at the wet stain on her bed. That girl was everything a guy would wish for; Karu was the guy every girl would wish for. They are the match made in heavens and their love story never had a part for anyone named Roki Saarunga.

Never. For she knew she would never be able to compete with the likes of Rikka Ginmaki. That sweet face could probably move mountains with a mere smile and the most frustrating thing is that she most likely knew it enough like most of her kind to entice countless of willing men to die for her whims. A frown for attention and a smile for favors, it had always been the case for such pretty faces.

This kind of people needs to die.

Yes.

They need to know what it feels like to be a nobody.

^$to#$&

These skin-deep harlots of opportunity.

Death equalizes all.

Roki found herself standing outside Karu’s ward looking in through a crack in the door opening, a kitchen knife grasped tightly in her grip. In there she found her target, talking and laughing with the boy of her dreams. She giggled and he moved to hold her smooth petite hand. He teased her, and she blushed with sweet embarrassment. With every display of affection between the two lovebirds, it further incensed the already unstable Roki.

Go in.

No! Y#0 ca%%ot do thi$.

Sweat soaked the handle of her blade as she grappled with her hold on her sanity. The final straw came when Rikka Ginmaki slipped out a muffin from a fresh basket of them and proceeded to feed it to Karu.

No! D$(n’t l00k! T*rn @nd wa!k…

There was a dying scream of her conscience.

Go in.

And Roki Saarunga burst into the room, much to the surprise of the people currently inside.

“Roki-san?” The Blade Genius grinned when he recognized the newcomer and exclaimed. “Yesterday you left so suddenly.”

“What….” A blade shot past his line of sight, causing warm blood to splatter onto his face. “Happened…”

Even as Rikka Ginmaki gasped in shock and fell to the ground like a fragile wax figurine, Karu’s face contorted from concern to absolute horror and disbelief. With his mouth shaped into a silent scream, he scrambled out of his bed without any regards to his injuries and cradled the blood soaked princess in his arms.

“Rikka! Rikka!” He shook the girl, his hand helplessly clutching over the wound in a futile effort to staunch the flow. “Oh my god… Rikka! Somebody, please help!”

Her objective complete, Roki Saarunga only laughed.

She laughed like a deranged maniac watching the life drain out of her prey.

So even the elites die like a normal person. Even the most perfect being can die like a worthless animal. In death, everybody is average.

In death, everyone is equal.

For a short while the entire room was filled with her insane laughter, until a resounding slap silenced the madness once more. Karu was standing in front of her.

“Get out.” He said in quiet fury, clearly shaking and trying to repress his desire to outright kill the Trickster where she stood.

His eyes shone with so much hatred that it jolted Roki out of her irrationality. For the first time since her episode of lunacy, the full weight of the atrocity she had committed bore down into the depths of her soul. Just like that, the friendship between them was shredded beyond return.

“Get out before I kill you.”

Roki needed no telling twice; She ran away, just as the doctor on duty arrived onto the scene of crime.

*******

What have I done?

It was question she kept repeating to herself throughout the whole time she was in her sanctuary. For the entirety of the following three days after the incident, Roki Saarunga had stayed under the tree in the clearing. She was hungry, wet and cold, but she did not move from her spot. She did not want to see or talk to anybody. She just wanted to disappear from the world.

Rain or shine, she replayed the event in her head over and over again and her mind will always end with the cold murderous stare Karu had given her. He must have hated her now. There was absolutely no way he will want to see her ever again. Tears fell freely down her cheeks at that damning thought, mingling with the rain drops from the morning drizzle still on her face.

No, she could make do without Karu in her life. He can hate her all he wanted, but she did it for his own good.

It was all worth it and one day, he will realize that.

Really?

A quiet voice different from that she had been hearing questioned in the back of her mind.

It was then a slight rustle broke her thoughts and alerted her to someone entering her hideaway.

“Ka…” Roki snapped her head up at the sight of the person, only to turn away when another girl followed in. “ru.”

Why is she here?

As if to answer her unvoiced question, Karu icily said, “Rikka wanted to know why you did it.”

Why isn’t she dead?

“Why did you tried to kill her.” He reiterated to the trembling mess in front of him as though she could not understand him the first time round.

Roki could only look back into those cold, judging eyes, dumbstruck by this stranger that was currently speaking to her. There was no more eye twinkling and friendly smile; Her Karu was dead and this is Rikka’s Karu now.

“I…” She muttered the final death throe of their relationship. “…love you.”

The look of disgust on Karu’s face as he supported his frail girlfriend said it all.

“I see…” It was the noble girl’s turn to speak. Her tone was surprisingly gentle and understanding but it was obvious she was becoming increasingly fatigued by the simple act of talking. “I won’t pursue this… but please do not… bother us in the future…”

“We do not want to see you ever again” Karu curtly finished, throwing Roki’s knife right at her feet.

That was the last sentence ever said between Roki Saarunga and Karu Karende.

The couple started to leave, with Karu tenderly helped Rikka Ginmaki out of the place he no longer wanted to be in. Staring dejectedly at the retreating back of the loving couple, Roki wanted to break down into tears, but there were no more tears to be shed.

Go on.

Roki’s hand found and gripped her blade.

Go on. You know you want to.

Call me.

Finish what you started.

And she plunged her blade into herself.

*****

She was back again in her mind’s garden, back where the obelisk was. The three females had been disfigured so horribly that they were nothing but lumps of melted flesh. Hovering above the stone tip was the head of the serpent, tongue flicking as it stared at the Trickster questioningly.

“Do you not want revenge, girl?” It said, appearing to have grown much bigger than the first time she had seen it. “For leading you on, as what the humans called it?”

“And then cruelly dumping you like a used toy?”

For the longest while Roki stayed silent and still, her eyes shut with contemplation, the tear stains on her cheeks cutting out a lonesome figure in the empty mindscape.

“No.” Her lips quivered ever so slightly.

“But I know you. You resent them.”

“Yes.” Roki admitted. “I do.”

“Then …”

“No.” Her eyes flashed open, interrupting the temptations of the snake.

“It was my own fault. There is nobody to blame but myself.”

“Even you, you who poisoned my mind,” Roki stared pointedly at the serpent stunning it speechless. There is something different about the girl it could not pinpoint. “It was my mistake to listen.”

“But…”

“I am tired.”

Unbeknownst to the two of them, the three bounded prisoners were rapidly regenerating back to their former selves.

“I am tired of hating and comparing. It was why she deserved Karu more than I do.”

There was a moment of silence between the two of them as they stared into each other’s eyes before the serpent finally discarded its friendly demeanor.

“She is just acting, girl! That gentle and kind side of her is only a facade! She can forgive you so easily because she has everything else you do not have! She knew you can never compete with her.”

The riled reptile reared its head up in an act of intimidation. “SHE PITY YOU, YOU FOOL”

“Even so,” Roki’s voice carried a calm determination that shook the boulder the snake was resting on. “It still did not make me a better person than her.”

Roki raised her blade at the serpent.

“You may be a part of me, but for my sake, you have to disappear.”

“Insolence!” By then, the serpent’s voice have devolved into something akin to a full-fledge malevolent entity. “You cannot deny what wells from the darkness within your heart!”

And it lunged, its poisoned fangs heading straight for Roki’s neck. The girl barely sidestepped the fatal strike, raising her blade up just in time to parry the serpent head that had swung back around.

“You. Cannot. Deny. Me.” It hissed through metal and fang.

Roki only responded with a flourish of her blade, bringing it down to the ground as hard as she could to hurl the snake against the dirt floor. Taking the chance while it is stunned from the impact, she quickly slammed her foot down onto the snake to hold it in place while holding her sword up high like an executioner.

“Goodbye.”

She slashed, and the katana came down upon the now vulnerable back of the writhing serpent. However, what she felt next was not the clean slice of blade through flesh but hard resistance as her weapon bounded off the snake scales. Panic overwhelmed Roki at that moment when she realized she could not cut the entity and it was all it needed to sweep its tail at her legs and knock her off itself. It took no more than a few seconds for the freed serpent to wind around the stunned girl and bind her.

“Fair attempt.” The binds tightened, causing enough pain and discomfort for Roki to let go of her sword.

The tables were instantaneously turned. It now has Roki at its mercy.

“But that was infinitely foolish.” The snake loomed just mere centimeters from Roki’s face, poison dripping out of its wicked fangs and onto her face. The spots where they fell sizzled and burned but not a single groan of pain escape her lips

If a snake can click its tongue, it would have done so as it stared down the defiant glare the girl was giving. “There is no way you can ever cut me with your current blade.”

“Without me, you might as well be nothing!”

It opened its mouth wide and struck, only for Roki to be faster. In a last-ditch attempt to save her own skin, she gathered all her strength and thrust her head forward, head-butting the incoming attack. There was a loud snap as the fangs cleanly broke off and the ensuing pain caused the binds on her to slacken. It was just enough for her to reach for her fallen sword in one hand and the serpent head in another. Quickly but surely she then brought the two of them together, the tip of the sword right at the vulnerable inside of the serpent mouth.

Once again, try as she might the sword still would not penetrate the snake. That fleeting feel of triumph turned into despair and just when it appears that the Trickster would miss this last opportunity to kill the personification of hatred and jealousy within herself, a soft hand took hers.

She looked up and was greeted by a child; the very same one that was bound to the boulder. The child smiled, and two more hands joined theirs. No words were spoken, but it was there and then that Roki felt at peace. It was as if there was an unwavering tranquility in her soul, as though a quiet but powerful assurance that everything would turn out alright.

“Curse you all!” It shrieked as they pushed, and the blade went through.

**********

As Roki Saarunga laid upon the grassy ground looking up into the endless sky, the only emotion left plaguing her was pain; Aching pain in her muscles, throbbing pain on her forehead, and a hollow pain in her heart. The battle was over, the deed done and a skewered snake laid testament to what had happened mere minutes ago.

Was this right? Was this … enough?

“We do not want to see you ever again”

Although she might have banished this hateful entity, it came at a time too late. There was no way Karu will ever want to see her again. Even if he did, she could not possibly find it within herself face him and Rikka after what she had tried to do.

Roki was too tired to think. All she wanted at that moment of time was to sleep and stay in her mindscape forever. The act of going back to reality had become too painful for her to bear and there was nothing there she could go back for. All that awaits her back there was a lonely world of nothing.

Looking back now, her life had indeed been pathetic.

Roki’s hand moved to wipe fresh tears from her face, only to come into contact with another pair of warm hands. She blinked and a kind smile came into her vision.

“Shush, dear.” The motherly figure cooed. “It is alright now. If you feel exhausted, then sleep. We will take care of things for you.”

“Really?” She asked, feeling very much like a young child.

The motherly figure nodded.

“You only have to trust us.” The last of the trio, the flirtatious one, softly encouraged. “Come, you know it deep down inside.”

“Thank…” Roki murmured.

“You….”

**********

“Thank you for coming to visit him every year, Saarunga-san.” Rikka said with a tired smile. “Even with your work, you still made time.”

“It is not a problem, Ginmaki-san.” The peach-haired girl replied with a light hearted wave of her hand. “I am after all a friend of his. I am sure he appreciates it.”

“Such a beautiful lady like you visiting him, of course he appreciates it.” Rikka Ginmaki Karende chuckled, prompting Roki to do the same.

“He always did have a soft spot for females.” The noble’s face was filled with tender nostalgia for the slightest moment before she came back from her reminiscence.

“It is time for me to go back.”

Roki nodded at Rikka’s announcement, folding her arms to her chest. “Don’t mind me. Just do what you need to.”

“You know what Saarunga-san?” Rikka fished something out from her sleeves and pushed it into Roki’s hand, which the Trickster immediately recognized from all those years ago. It was a silver butterfly knife, one that shimmered with a beautiful glow under the setting sun and stylishly carved with the initials of R.G.M.

“Even though I have never met you before, I am giving it to you.”

Roki was both horrified and surprised at the same time. “But this is his…”

“I have no use for it anymore. Maybe you can find a use for it.” There was a tone of finality in her words as Rikka bowed and turned to leave. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” Roki politely bowed back. “And thank you.”

When the noble girl was well out of sight, the Trickster turned her gaze back to the gravestone of one Karu Karende and plopped herself down right in front of it.

“So, how have you been doing?”

She fondly caressed the butterfly knife in her hand as she too went hurtling back into the past.

“Baka.”

“Even the most one-sided of love allows for room to grow.”

~Anonymous.

Live a Lie: End