December 2015
***
The month barely started, but the selection of seasonal snacks at the convenience stores had long since changed, and the streets have seen decoration work for dazzling nighttime illumination for the festive season. Those same streets were bustling with couples, all of them packed into warm clothes.
This serene scene wouldn’t last long as a scream pierced the chilly afternoon air. People ran away from the point of origin and soon a large circle was cleared. Marionettes the size of an adult human appeared, blades protruding from their razor-wire covered arms. They moved with singular, clumsy purpose, as if there was a giant, invisible hand pulling their strings right above them.
A civilian got caught; A slash cut open the clothes and skin on his back, making him collapse helplessly before the wooden hunter. The thing raised its arms, showing it was about to gore him with all the knives on its body, but the strike never came.
A Magical Girl appeared. She was a young, beautiful woman with glowing red hair that flowed in the wind behind her. Her cane sword was drawn and effortlessly held back the arms of the mindless attacker.
With a kick to the marionette’s torso, a quick sheathing of her sword and a fire spell cast in quick succession the assailant was neutralized, quietly burning in the middle of the street. The other marionettes were drawing closer, but the Magical Girl took the time to turn around towards the injured civilian first. She pointed her staff at him and a blue glow appeared over the wound.
“I put your injury in stasis to prevent further bleeding. That’s all I can do for now.”
She turned towards the other civilians. “Please, take him away from here and to a doctor.”
With that she faced the enemies with their bladed limbs again.
“Where are the Flower Brigade girls? Madame Bille’s minions are theirs to deal with. They told me as much the last time I cut in.”
Her question was answered with another slash in her direction which she dodged by jumping aside. Drawing an arc with her cane she summoned multiple icicles in the air that shot forth and impaled a number of the wooden soldiers.
She turned towards the remaining marionettes which suddenly started vibrating violently. Their spasming limps flailed around and they ran towards each other, resulting in a large pile-up.
“Huh? What’s going on now?”
The wooden soldiers dismembered each other except for one who kept building something new from the parts. It stuck parts together that didn’t look like they belonged with each other and before long it sat on top of a giant marionette spider.
I feel like I’m stealing the Flower Brigade’s big defining boss battle.
Before she could form another thought the giant wooden spider leapt at her, soaring through the air with unnatural grace. It was all she could do to jump to the side as the creature crashed down, displacing bricks and asphalt.
Minerva didn’t waste any time – she jumped at her new adversary and slashed at it with her magically enhanced blade, coating it in fire as she hacked at the wooden appendages.
The creature whacked her aside with one of its many legs and she crashed into a window of a nearby building.
“Ngh… you’re a stubborn one.” She pushed herself off the ground and ascended, zooming up the building she had just crashed into to start bombarding the marionette spider with sharp rocks.
“Take this! And this!”
The creature’s body was pushed back with every strike and cracked, but it wasn’t going down yet. It jumped at the building and dug its legs into the window front, running up towards Minerva’s position, leaving holes in its wake.
Oh, what else did I expect? It is a spider.
“Could have told you that.”
Quiet.
Minerva created some distance between herself and the spider, shooting fiery projectiles at it with calculated precision to not unnecessarily hit the building behind it.
Finally the creature jumped again. Minerva sheathed her blade and held herself in a ready position midair. Just as the creature’s razor wire covered mandibles came into view she struck, drawing her burning blade and cutting the monster right through the middle. Both halves caught fire and needlessly tumbled down to the street where they uselessly crashed into the asphalt.
Minerva smirked as she descended and sheathed her blade to some applause. She considered bowing and basking in the praise until she heard a rather irritating voice.
“Ah! It’s you again! I already told you, stick to your own monsters you glory hound!”
She looked to where the voice came from. Midair above the street there were three girls, their magical dresses looking like upside-down tulips in bloom. Their colors were red, purple and pink after the actual flowers themselves.
The one talking to her was the one in pink, an irritating young girl with a blonde twin tail hairstyle and sharp-looking teeth who had a finger pointed at her.
Inside Minerva, Seika wanted to object, to raise her voice at the girl and tell her that she intervened because otherwise people would have gotten seriously injured – however the personality of Minerva, her transformation crystal, took over and reacted with her usual wisecracking cockiness.
“Ooh, good of you to show up, flower girls!”
“It’s Flower Brigade! Get it right!”
“I was just thinking that I need someone to clean up after me!”
“Don’t get carried away just because you- hey, stay here, damn it!”
Minerva Crimson was already flying away, leaving behind the young girl who was so angry at her that she figuratively smoked from her ears.
image [https://i.imgur.com/CdWLhkc.png]
Minerva flew through the sky for only a few minutes before she stopped in front of a very specific building. Her college dorm, to be exact. She extended two knuckles and knocked on the window of a lit room.
Before long it was pushed open by a young woman. She had red dyed hair and hazel eyes and was dressed in a simple green track suit.
Minerva hovered into the room while the girl sat back down on the bed, grinning at her.
“Welcome back, o mighty hero!”
“Stop it, you.”
Seika undid her transformation and let out a laugh. Her hair was long, almost as long as that of her transformed alter ego. There was a slight discoloration under her eyes, but by far not as severe rings as she would have in her future. And on top of that, she wore contacts. 21 years old and a college student. That was her.
The woman on the bed was her best friend, Ayame. Ayame Takanashi, in full.
“So, how did it go? The Youtubers say your fight tore an office building a few new ones.”
“It was annoying. The Flower Brigade was late, people almost got seriously injured, and then they had the gall to yell at me that I’m stealing their monsters.”
“Oof. Hey, I know what helps. Here, catch.”
Ayame tossed her a can from the bedside table and Seika caught it. It was beer.
“Thank you, Ayame. Love you, Ayame.”
“Sorry, I’m only into boys.”
“As you let everyone know whenever you get the chance.”
“Not my fault I’m surrounded by girls who love girls. I swear, something’s in the water of this dorm.”
Their banter came to an end as both leaned their heads back to chug from their cans. They both simultaneously dropped their arms back down as they had downed half the content and let out a synchronous “PSHAAAAAH!” to make their approval known.
“So, how’s your convenience store job going? You don’t usually talk about it, so I got curious. Especially with how you manage your time with work and… well, saving people.”
Ayame took another sip from her beer, looking at Seika as she sat down on the bed next to her.
“Work is going alright. I actually have to thank you. Your suggestion to pretend that I’m a smoker to get those extra mini breaks when something is happening has saved my butt a few times already.”
Ayame grinned, playfully bumping her elbow into Seika’s side.
“See? I’m the smart one in this friendship. Smoking’s starting to fall out of style, but enough jobs still offer quiet places to get a smoke break in. That way you’re not getting bothered.”
Seika gave a weak smile in return. “I hate the smell, though. And that it has to be on me.”
“That’s the price you pay to be a hero. Well, anyway… what’s your colleagues like?”
Seika pondered, looking the curious Ayame in the eyes. “Well, the manager is nice enough and accommodating both my schedule as a student and my smoke breaks. Oh, a year ago we got a new part-timer who shares most of my shifts. A high school girl who…”
She paused, scratching her chin as she thought about the reactions of that young girl.
“…I’m pretty sure she has a crush on me, for whatever reason.”
“Ohhhhh!?” Ayame jumped on it like a shark that caught the scent of blood in the water. Her face got almost uncomfortably close to Seika’s as she looked at her with excited eyes.
“Do tell me more! Is she cute? Are you going to have an illicit relationship with a JK? Hmm?”
“I didn’t say anything about liking her back!” Seika pushed against Ayame’s shoulders to get some space to breathe, but her friend was relentless.
“But yes, she’s very cute. A blonde with a big sparkle in her eyes.”
She let out a little huff.
“And October 30th we celebrated her eighteenth birthday, so stop the jokes about inappropriately dating a high school girl.”
Ayame threw one of her arms over her face, faking a sob.
“Ah! My beloved Seika! Her heart was stolen by some younger harlot! I shall fight this homewrecker for the right to claim her hand in marriage!”
Seika pinched Ayame in the cheek.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
“What happened to that ‘I’m only into boys’ talk?”
“I’m only into boys and Seika!”
“Stop spewing nonsense. You just want to start some weird rivalry with a younger girl for the sake of it.” Seika sighed and released Ayame’s cheek.
“I’m not going to come onto her. If she confesses, though…”
Seika turned bashful, a finger playing with one of her locks, twirling it around.
“…I might give it some serious thought.”
“Oooh, that’s virgin Seika talking right there.” Ayame teased, poking Seika’s side.
Seika retaliated with a hard flick against Ayame’s forehead but was still smiling.
“So. What’s the program for tonight? You’re in charge of picking anime.”
“Ohoho! I’m certain you will like this one. It combines your shameless nature as an otaku with your appreciation for women!”
Seika scratched the back of her head.
“Oh, come on, I’m not some kind of perv.”
***
Seika was that kind of perv. What Ayame picked was a currently airing show that was straight up yuri erotica and after the first action sequence it had Seika’s undivided attention.
“So let me get this straight… one of these girls is a weapon but her wielder, the other girl, has to get her off so she can transform?!”
“And the main character manages it straight away just from kissing and a little bit of touching her boobs. Amazing, isn’t it?”
Ayame wore a smug grin of superiority.
“Look at you, you pervy otaku, you’re really getting into it.”
“Shut up.”
“Imagine if your powers worked like that. Ah, but I guess our poor widdle virgin Seika would be unarmed, then. Maybe we should have you wear a gym outfit with ‘virgin’ written on the front like the girl in the show?”
Ayame laughed at her own joke until a pillow hit her in the face.
“Come on, now!” Seika was furiously red in the face.
“Ask nicely and maybe I’d be your weapon. It’d cost you a whole lot of beer in exchange, though! Friends with combat benefits!”
She laughed again, patting Seika’s shoulder in the process.
“There goes your ‘I’m only into boys’ act again.”
“Now, now, it’s not like those kinds of weapons are real. And besides, what’s wrong with experimenting a little bit in your youth?”
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“You’re just saying that to get me flustered. I’m not falling for your tricks, Ayame!”
The laughter among the two continued until deep in the night, causing the two of them to attend the next morning’s lectures in a terribly groggy state.
image [https://i.imgur.com/CdWLhkc.png]
It was December 24th and Seika worked another boring shift at the convenience store, comforted only by the company of the young Miori.
“It’s so grey and monotone out there. We don’t even have snow.”
Miori let out a long sigh after her observation, her fingers tapping on the counter.
“And the only customers we get today are sad people who aren’t spending any time with a partner.”
Seika gave a nervous chuckle in response to that. Her own plans once she clocked out were to grab a few cans of beer and return to the dorm to kick back with Ayame. To hold a little party for the eternally single friends while everyone else was getting busy with their significant other.
“Do you have any plans for today, Miori? Like, going out with a boyfriend after work?”
She saw the high school girl stiffen in response to her question.
“Ah… no, not… particularly. I mean, there is someone… but we aren’t together yet… like… I haven’t asked them yet…”
The girl was talking quietly like a mouse. That combined with the fact that Seika knew she herself was the subject of the high school girl’s affection amused her.
“Well, good luck. I’m sure if you work up the courage in the future things will work out for you.”
I’m a terrible girl for messing with her like that.
Just in that moment the door to the store opened. The two of them faced the entrance and shouted their “Welcome!” together.
The woman who entered looked quite out of place, like a movie star had gone missing and chose their convenience store to go underground.
She wore an expensive-looking fur coat with a hood pulled all the way over her head. Her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses which made her look even weirder in the twilight of a winter evening. Her lips were accentuated with a screaming red lipstick that contrasted her pale complexion. No, on further inspection her complexion appeared even sickly, like it had a green hue to it.
Without even looking at the wares the woman stepped to the counter and looked at the two girls from behind her sunglasses.
“Hello, Miss. Can we help you?” Seika asked her, though she was already creeped out by the unusual aura. Now that the woman stood right in front of her, Seika could smell the strong scent of roses wafting off her.
Then, without a warning she grabbed Miori’s hand – her green fingers tightening like a vise around the girl’s digits as she stared intently at the girl.
“Miss! I have to ask you to let go of my junior!” Seika raised her voice, reaching to grab the odd woman by the wrist. As they made skin contact a weird, intangible feeling spread through Seika –like the gut feeling after leaving the house before you remember an hour later that you forgot something important, like turning off the stove.
At least the woman let go of Miori, who immediately stepped back from the counter to get away. The woman’s stare was now directly on Seika. She shook off Seika’s hand before she grinned and licked the spot where she had been grabbed.
“Very interesting.” The woman said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Then she simply turned and left.
“What a weirdo. Are you alright, Miori?”
Seika stepped over to her scared junior, gently touching her shoulder.
“I’m alright… but she really gave me the creeps.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Seika still had that ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach, which lasted for a few more hours.
image [https://i.imgur.com/CdWLhkc.png]
After her shift Seika made sure that Miori got home safe before she went back to her dorm on her own. She carried a few cans of beer in her bag that were guaranteed to make Ayame’s day.
The walk had her reminisce a little; She had known Ayame since middle school. She was always the louder and more obnoxious one of the two and only even found out that Seika was Minerva Crimson because she broke school rules and took her breaks on the roof, climbing on top of the rooftop enclosure to eat while watching the city around the school. She observed Seika transforming and flying away for at least a month before she approached her about it.
Seika flailed and panicked and made an empty threat to erase Ayame’s memories, but nothing she said got the girl to back off. They had been a pair of troublemakers ever since.
“It’s been seven years now, huh? A lucky number.” Seika muttered to herself. “I should have gotten enough beer so that both of us can try to chug seven cans.”
Maybe Ayame had the same idea, and they could combine their respective bounty of beer.
Seika finally arrived in the dorm. She took the stairs to the first floor and walked to Ayame’s door, knocking thrice.
“Ayame? I got beer! The Christmas singles can drown their sorrows in golden frothing liquid!”
There was no response, causing Seika to knock again.
“Are you deaf? It’s me! Seika!”
A strong smell of roses wafted out from under the door.
***
The ominous feeling was back and held Seika’s stomach in an iron grip. For emergencies like these she had held on to Ayame’s spare key, having promised to never use it without due cause and invade Ayame’s privacy. She didn’t have a particular desire to walk in on her friend with a boy she snuck in or while enjoying ‘alone time’, so she never used it until now.
She hurried to her room, letting her bag with the beer fall to the ground as she fumbled for her own keys.
She entered her dormitory room and opened a drawer, pulling the spare key out before hurrying back, not even bothering to lock her door after.
She turned the key in Ayame’s lock and opened the door. What she found behind the door defied all expectations:
Thorned vines were growing all over the furniture, slightly moving as if their growth was continuing even in this moment. Large leaves were choking out the light from the lamp and covered the large window at the end of the room.
All of the vines sprouted from a single plant in the middle of the room – it was like a small tree, its trunk formed from intertwining vines that formed a crown – and above that crown, an orb of light floated, clearly showing Ayame’s face on it.
Seika entered the room, but it was Minerva Crimson who locked the door from the inside. She stepped ahead, touched the floating orb, and just as she expected, it transported her to a wildly different place.
***
Minerva found herself in a vast field of flowers that stretched to the horizon under a nigh cloudless spring sky. A gentle breeze blew through the field, spreading petals and a pleasant smell in the air.
One would be forgiven thinking that this was a paradise if they didn’t know its true nature. And even though Minerva could only guess the nature of the master of this place, she knew that appearances are nothing more than that.
She turned around and saw what looked like the overgrown ruins of various walls – there was a single pillar with faded engravings, covered in ivy. There must have been a castle here, long ago.
Right in front of her was a gravestone with a replica of a sword plunged into it. A blend of different metals made it look like it was coated in blood up to half the length of the blade. The inscription read ‘Romy’.
She turned her back on the grave again as she heard faint singing in the opposite direction.
As she made her way through the field the color and make of the flowers changed. She stepped from a colorful collection of different types of flowers like poppies, forget-me-nots, chrysanthemums, hyacinths, roses, carnations and orchids into a mono-colored field of still closed white lilies with an almost rainbow-like sheen.
After she walked some more the lilies opened – each of them becoming a little canvas – and soon after pictures began moving. Each and every one of these flowers showed moments out of different lives.
The birth of a child, a first love’s kiss, a funeral.
Taking a child to her first day at school, touching each other’s hands during a movie date, saying goodbye for the last time to a friend before moving and gradually losing contact.
Starting a hobby, getting recognition for one’s art, envy over other people’s success.
All of these human moments and emotions played in the field. And finally, after a few more minutes of walking, every one of these flowers showed Seika’s face, as well as Minerva’s.
The beautiful singing voice grew louder and clearer in a language she didn’t understand. It almost sounded like it was lamenting what was about to happen, as if this world was building up suspense for its own sick games.
Minerva recognized all the memories as moments she had spent with Ayame.
Ayame hiding Minerva in a locker as a teacher nearly walked in on them.
Ayame and Seika sharing their bento on top of the school roof.
Ayame flying through the air while Minerva held her in a princess carry.
All these moments surrounded Minerva as she was confronted with her friend’s fate.
Ayame was unconscious, suspended above the field of flowers that kept repeating the same moments from her life over and over. Vines kept her in place, her arms stretched away from her torso like she was crucified. In some places the vines’ thorns dug into her flesh and a thin trickle of blood dripped down, staining the memory flowers in red.
The singing stopped.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?”
The sickly-sweet voice was instantly familiar. Minerva didn’t hesitate to draw her sword and slash behind her where it came from, but all she hit was a pile of leaves that flew away in the breeze she created.
“I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once, and Minerva couldn’t do anything but prepare herself for a possible attack. Then it happened – thorny vines broke out of the ground and snaked their way towards Minerva. She retaliated with her sword, imbuing it with fire to cut through the vines like they were butter – however, they kept coming and coming, surrounding Minerva.
She spun the sword around herself in a fiery slash, cutting through every vine around her, but they simply kept regrowing. Multiple vines twisted around each other and became a larger tendril that attacked with a large swipe towards Minerva.
She cut it again, and again, each time it kept regrowing. As she prepared to strike for what felt like the hundredth time, more vines appeared from her blind spot and restrained her wrist, then the massive tendril hit her in the stomach before splitting apart and restraining the rest of her body.
She struggled, but every move she made just served to dig the thorns into her skin.
***
As she remained still, feverishly thinking about what her next move should be, the wind blew flower petals into a circular formation like a dust devil – they grew concentrated enough to obscure all sight entirely and then they dispersed, revealing a woman standing in front of Minerva. Her skin was sickly green, with her long nails and smiling lips showing a screaming red contrast. She didn’t appear to wear clothes, instead her skin turned into leaves that maintained her modesty like a dress. Despite her sweet smile she was radiating malevolence like Minerva had rarely felt before, matching the blood-red irises sitting within black sclera that were now focused entirely on her prey.
She was the woman who had touched Miori at the store and ran off after Seika intervened.
“You…!” Minerva started with a hissing voice towards the woman, struggling against the vines which only caused her to let out a pained yelp as the thorns dug into her.
“Yes, me…” The sweet voice drew closer as the plant woman stepped towards Minerva, hushing her with a finger to her lips.
“Don’t struggle, now. This is my domain and you’re here by invitation. There was nothing you could do against me from the start.”
“What do you want?” Minerva spat the words towards the creature.
“Oh, how rude. Let me introduce myself first. I am Lethe. I preside over this domain of memories. And just today by touching you, dear Seika, I caught a glimpse of a truly magnificent collection of happy memories.” She turned away and walked over towards Ayame, caressing her cheek.
“Oh, how sweet the fruit that will sprout from her will taste…”
“Get your dirty hands off her!” Minerva shouted now, desperation forming tears in her eyes.
Lethe disappeared in a swirl of petals and her form appeared behind Minerva, a hand on her side that slowly trailed up.
“Or what?” she asked, and Minerva could tell the sickening grin on the creature’s face from her words alone.
As Lethe’s hand reached the side of her neck she demonstrated once again that this domain and its laws obeyed her. Her fingertips sank into Minerva’s neck like her body was made from jelly. She gasped and choked as she could feel those fingers interfere with her windpipe and then she shoved the fingers further up and all higher brain functions in the Magical Girl’s head ceased.
She saw explosions of stars, old memories rushing past her inner eye as Lethe was rummaging through them like a cardboard box full of photos in someone’s attic. Every little twitch of her fingers was accompanied by another burst of memories, with Minerva’s eyes sightlessly rolling in different directions. Her limbs spasmed and her breath hitched.
Minerva’s mental faculties came back to normal as Lethe yanked her hand out of her malleable skull, her scrambled brains taking back their natural shape. She could think again, and her first thought was about how utterly violated she felt in this moment.
“What an interesting mind you have. After those sweet, sweet memories I’ll taste today I might want something salty… or bitter in the future. So, I planted a seed to cultivate.”
After giving Minerva just enough time to get her bearings Lethe leaned forward and put one of her sharp nails on the Magical Girl’s cheek.
“And now it’s time to eat. All we need is some blood of the subject of her memories to water the plants.” She made a swift cut across Minerva’s cheek and as she flinched, a single drop of blood fell down on the flowerbed. A single lily was stained in red and in the blink of an eye the color spread across the entire field.
Ayame moved, but only to throw her head back and let out a scream as a bright light appeared from her chest and a golden, glowing fruit appeared from it – it showed memories just like the surrounding flowers, all including Seika’s and Minerva’s faces.
Ayame squirmed as Lethe plucked the hovering fruit out of the air and fell unconscious again. Minerva pulled on her bindings, driving thorns deeper into her flesh as she tried to intervene.
The following wet crack of Lethe’s teeth piercing the fruit would haunt Seika’s mind forever.
Lethe devoured the fruit piece by piece, making a point of turning it into a sadistic show. Minerva raged against her bondage and let out a blood curdling scream, even as thorns tore away the flesh on her arms and legs.
“Oh, this is so much sweeter than I could have ever imagined. Pure love for a friend with whom she shares a secret is truly one of the greatest treats out there. Adoration turning into confusion at her own feelings. Just a pinch of… lust, maybe? Just splendid!”
She showed a blissful face as she savored every bite. in the end only a little piece of the fruit was left, which she placed in Ayame’s mouth, cackling as she made her chew.
“I always let them have a little bit of it back. It’s so much more satisfying when they have dreams about the things they once knew… and forget about them again in the morning.”
In this moment Minerva exploded quite literally – in a desperate bid she channeled magic and set the vines holding her on fire.
She suffered severe burns and more lacerations as the thorns came loose, but now she was headed straight for that monster, resolved to make her pay.
Her sword appeared by her side and she slashed at Lethe, only to cut through a whirling mass of petals as the woman disappeared again.
“Come back here!” She screamed at the top of her lungs as the surrounding area grew darker – the flowers vanished, just like the vines.
“Grow that seed with your despair! Dare hope or love and I will come back for you to reap my harvest!” Lethe’s voice vanished with vile laughter as Minerva found herself back in Ayame’s room.
She hurried to the girl’s side and held her.
“Ayame! Ayame, are you alright?”
Her friend slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Minerva with large eyes.
“Woah! A Magical Girl. Was I in danger? I can’t remember anything for some reason…”
***
It was like Seika feared. Ayame was physically mostly unhurt, but any memory involving Minerva Crimson and her secret identity Seika Hitoishi were gone. Seven years of her life’s memories were cut in half as Lethe devoured the memories of the one person she spent most of her time with.
Minerva made up a story about some danger that she saved Ayame from and left it at that, leaving her room to return to her own.
After turning back the cuts and burns on her body turned into unsightly black spots, as if she had taken a beating.
This is for the best… isn’t it?
It has to be. Being close to me would just hurt her. So, if she forgets about me, she will be out of danger.
I shouldn’t get this close to anyone ever again.
“…” Even Minerva seemed like she was at a loss for words.
Her tears flowed freely now. Even while she was so desperately trying to tell herself that everything was for the best, the fact remained that she had just lost her best friend and there was nothing she could do to get those memories back.
image [https://i.imgur.com/CdWLhkc.png]
It was time for her to cut all remaining ties. After around a week of Ayame going about her life like she never knew Seika a lot of people around them assumed that the two friends had a massive falling out and stopped asking questions.
She clocked into work at the convenience store for the last time on December 31st. She had given notice to her manager, making up a reason why she needed to leave on short notice. He accommodated her and even gave her the option to quit after one week instead of two. Her eyes were resting unconsciously on Miori as they worked together.
I won’t see her again. Guess I was lying to her when I told her that things will work out.
“By the way, Miori. I’m quitting my job here today.” She could see the shock on the younger woman’s face and saw the gears turning behind her eyes as she tried to make sense of her senpai’s decision.
“Oh? Are you switching stores? Like, are you moving, Senpai?”
“Something like that.” Seika couldn’t look her in the eyes and focused on some spot on the ground as she answered.
“Will… will you exchange LINE information with me, Senpai?” the girl asked like it was a desperate plea. Seika could tell that she wanted to keep in contact, to not lose sight of her precious senpai.
But to keep her safe, Seika would have to hurt her today.
“I’m sorry. I’m not really doing LINE or any SNS like it.” Seika lied. She wasn’t good at it and had to force every word out while trying not to burst into tears.
***
After her last shift was over Seika hurried to get changed into her usual clothes. She wanted to be as far away from here as possible before she had to say anything else that would hurt Miori. After a hurried farewell she was out the door – and then she heard her darling junior’s voice behind her.
“Senpai!”
The younger woman’s voice was suddenly filled with an uncanny determination. Seika fought back tears as she already knew what was coming – she herself nudged Miori in this direction, after all.
She turned around to face the blonde girl.
“I love you, Senpai. Please go out with me!”
Seika couldn’t hesitate here, so she didn’t.
“I’m sorry, Miori. I can’t return your feelings. I shouldn’t.”
With this she quickly walked away to let her tears fall to the ground unnoticed, leaving Miori behind.
She was speaking the whole truth – maybe it would sound like she rejected Miori based on their age gap. But she shouldn’t. Lethe tracked down Ayame by getting a glimpse of Seika’s memories from a single touch. No one was ever going to be safe if they got close to her.
image [https://i.imgur.com/CdWLhkc.png]
June 2024
***
Seika yanked awake from her dream shaped from memories.
Her single day of having fun with Miori brought back the painful reminder why she isolated herself in the first place.
She grabbed her phone and opened LINE, which she never wanted to install for this very reason. Her moment of weakness could cost the girl who was now registered as her one and only contact everything.
After holding a long press on Miori’s account and bringing up the menu her finger shakily hovered above the ‘Delete’ option. She had to right her lapse of judgment.
Just in that moment a message came in.
'Are you awake, Senpai?'
Seika blinked at the message and wiped the sweat off her face before she responded. She wasn’t used to typing on a phone, so she needed to rewrite her message a few times after messing up.
'Just woke up from a bad dream. You?'
'I keep thinking about our date and am too giddy to sleep.'
'It meant that much to you, huh?'
'It’s a dream come true after nine long years.'
Seika let out a long sigh, falling back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. After a short break to contemplate she typed again.
'I might not be answering for a while. I’m going outside for some fresh air.'
'Take care! I think I might do the same.'
And with that she went outside as Minerva Crimson.