Re-Opening

    The small animals of the day are kind. The large animals of the day are brutal. The small animals of the night are eerie. The large animals of the night. . .I know not of any.

Erichin mountain pass

2001

Day 3

   My name is Todoroki Aota. I was once, a normal high-schooler. But, after a series of unfortunate events, I was fated to an uncomfortable trip with an odd set of people. A kohai, who was also a murderer. An abominable accomplice, a bear and a crazy man. The setting, was a forest we were supposed to leave but would be sure to die if we were to do so. Right now, I'm just confused.

"Geez, I'm still so confused. Why am I even here?" I asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Idiots." A girl remarked. She, as Razael had explained, was formidable and useful. He had promised her something in return for her help so she had complied. But her mannerisms remained barbaric.

"Tch."

     Beside me, a little girl by the name of Okonayami Mitsu stood, staring angrily at the girl. She as always, was holding my hand.

"I will try to answer your questions as best as possible, Aota. I just hope Razael does the same." After witnessing a phenomenon like Daizaiel, a talking bear who referred to himself as a Giminen, I had the belief in anything impossible.

"Huh? Sorry, sorry, I jus' got distracted by your stupid face." Razael said, laughing. He was supposedly an inhabitant of Hirsugiminen like Daizaiel, but his appearance, his attire, his personality, to me, he was no different to than the inhabitants of Humetan. A mad people facility.

"So, then," Daizaiel said, ignoring him, "Ask away, Aota."

      I thought for a moment. I had to ask in order, from first unexplainable event to the next.

"Well, then. . .Seikon. . .What is he?"

      Daizaiel looked up into the sky, apparently searching it for a sensible answer. An answer that had to be limited to my level of understanding.

"A cursed being created unintentionally my Aesthaea-sama." Daizaiel sighed. It seemed my question had brought pressure upon him, allowing dark memories to enter his mind. "No further questions on this topic for I have no more comments."

'Is this your 'best as possible' I thought.

"Question number two." Okonayami said. "How did Mr. Razael get us from point A to B in one second?"

   Point a to b? What was this?

"Stop calling him that."

"It's called. . ."

"It's called teleportation!" Razael interrupted proudly.

"Stop talking garbage, you imbesile." Daizaiel sighed. "It's called Kieru. The ability to. . ." He looked up into the sky again. Unfortunately, it had no more answers for him. "It's too complicated for you."

    His best as possible was turning out to be the same as every time I asked him a question. No comment. Aesthaea will tell you. Just wait. Who the hell was this Aesthaea?

Meirochi district

2001

The Mirutsuhikaichi

   Aesthaea is my idol. She's my God. She has a belief; a belief that all men are evil and should perish. And that belief, I made it mine.

   That's why, I killed father, his friends, my brothers. . .Everyone. As long as they didn't share my bodily features, I'd surely kill them. Innocent or not.

   I stood there, panting, sweating, hovering over my latest victim. His blood painted my knife and my uniform. It was disgusting, this color and liquid that came from them whenever I cut them. I wiped the blood away, then stared at the unmoving figure.

      Just like all the rest, his eyes were lifeless. Drained off all its color and light, leaving it eerie and pale. Even death did not favor creatures such as these.

"Bless me once more, Aesthaea-sama. For I am gracefully carrying out your work."

     I prayed, then left the body to rot. I walked along the district border, hiding behind the tall bushes and shrubs. Carefully avoiding the prying eyes of the keen constables. Even though their only weapons were wooden batons, it surely did hurt.

       After I killed father, mother had found out. Instead of telling on me, scolding me, hating me, she told me that she was glad. That I had accomplished a feat that she herself couldn't perform. She was proud. After that, we hid the body, blaming his death on Zeyshiin, a couple of brigands. They had a funeral at the military's special graveyard but we didn't lament. We rejoiced, for we were free from his clutches.

        The years passed and I kept on killing, mother coming up with an excuse every time I was suspected. It was painful, even if it was right, to murder. To watch as the light of their eyes and soul faded, but I knew I couldn't stop. Still, this was torture, and I hated that. So, I decided that if I was forever fated to do something, I'd try to enjoy it.

       I became a sadistic demon. One who rampages the night by her lonesome, killing everyone who were unfortunate enough to be men. A sinful sadist.

      Once, I was spotted by a small girl during one of my massacres. She had cried when she saw me and it made my heart ache. Even though she might tell, even though she might get me in trouble. I couldn't hurt her. I still had a heart. One that favored women.

      She, as I expected, had told the other children about me and even though her story wasn't believed by the teachers, they still shunned me. My love for killing started revealing itself in my everyday life. I was quick to anger, to harm, to hurt. So then, I was shunned by everyone.

     I knocked on my door as I came home. A small home of wood and shingles. A few seconds later, it opened and a hand dragged me in.

"Good evening ka-san."

      There was a bit of a silence over the room.

"I wont do this with you anymore, Okonayami."

"Hm? Do what?"

"These lies. The samurai have caught on to what were doing. I still have things I have to do in my life. So, I can't die just yet."

"But, Ka-san, I need you."

"I'm sorry, Okonayami but, you're a murderer. People like you have no justice in this world. I'm going to have to turn you in to them. The samurai."

"But why?"

      Her words hurt. My only mother, willing to send me away because of her fears. But she wasn't truly my mother.

"The samurai have caught wind to what we're doing as I said before. Our ship is sinking, it's either you or the both of us."

    I saw her head towards the door pass me, uncaring of my feelings. She wanted to live, she didn't care if I died. But, I wanted to live even more. I needed to live on.

    The color of blood; that eerie red color. It tainted my heart. I now had the sin of killing both genders. Now, what did I believe in?

      But now, I was all alone. Still, for every human being,  there can be a replacement. So I'll find someone, to replace my loneliness. Because if I was alone in this world, I'd surely die.

Meirochi district

2001

Todoroki's house

"Kyukesei!" I called father. And even though he was my real father, he permitted me to call him by name. "Stop being an idiot!"

"But it's true."

      I glared at him, then smiled.

'Such an idiot'. I thought. How could a man, one who was titled terrorist, be so sweet? Like a child, he held the back of his head while walking, staring shamelessly at the bodily features of other women. That was what he was describing to me now, seeing that he knew that I tended to gravitate towards them. In unnatural ways.

"Don't lie Todoroki. You don't expect me believe that you didn't notice. Those huge, oversized, bon-bons. . ."

"Yaaaah!"

       I shouted and flung the book I was reading at his face. The blush that had crept over my face would no longer be hidden by it but I didn't care. I did see what he was talking about. In the years of my lonesome, I tend to see everything. Having nothing better to do, I started focusing entirely on the features God had blessed us women with. But now was not the time to fantasize.

"Oh. . .I see." Father said.

"W-what?" I asked curiously at his sudden change of mood.

"It seems you're taking good care of this book." He said. I had to. Books were even rarer and more expensive than parchments. In these days, things like books and parchments could be related to an oversized television set. Still, father had bought it with ease. But that was not what he was talking about.

    It was a book about a cliche tale of two women named, Yuna and Yune. Through the hardships and struggles of life, they had come to fall in love. The very definition of cliche. In other words, it was a Yuri book.

"Gimme that!" I shouted, snatching away the book from Kyukesei.

"Huh, but why? Am I not permitted to read it?" He joked.

"Not even."

       After a moment of silence, Kyukesei spoke, completely shifting the mood.

"Samurai are to come visit the Torihikaichi the day after tomorrow." He said seriously. I frowned at the bad news. Even though the constables feared Kyukesei, the samurai had no fear for anyone. They'd easily take him from his ranks so father himself, feared them.

"I won't be here tomorrow." Father continued.

"But, why?"

"I've been asked to join a nightly raid. The black market sold to some of my guys, some rare cannon-like bombs and they want to test it on Zeyshiin."

"I see. Will you be home the day after that?"

"Surely."

"Promise?"

"Promise. I'll be here the day after tomorrow."

"Yay! What would you like for dinner when you get home then?"

"Meat!"

"Anything else." I asked boredly.

"Hmm. . .Teriyaki?"

"Geez, that's even more meat! Try something western. Know what, don't bother, I'm sure it'll involve meat."

"Hehe."

"Kyukesei?"

"Yeah?"

"My mother. What was she like?"

     My mother had died when I was at an early age at the hands of brigands.

"Your mother? Let's see. . .Well, she had big boobies for starters. . ."

"Die!"

"Oof! Sorry."

"Please. Just be realistic."

"But I was. . ." I shot him a hard glare. "Okay, okay. Well, she was a bit like you."

"How typical of you to say."

"But it is true. She had this crazy weird attraction towards her friend who was a girl. . ."

"A girl? What kind of attraction? What kind of ya know, things did they do. . .?"

      I was getting nervous.

"What kind of things? Oh. Let's see, she did mention kissing each other when they were younger."

       A kiss between childhood friends. That must've been a fortunate life.

"K-kiss? What else? Did they do anything else when they were in middle school?"

        She never made it to high school. She had begun working in rice fields with family members at an early age.

"I don't know Todo. Unlike you, I don't go prying into people's businesses."

      He lay his back against the wall of his room. The room I had invaded for the sole purpose of learning knowledge I couldn't get anywhere else.

"Wha'? I don't do that!"

"Listen Todoroki." He spoke seriously again and I knew we were back to the topic of the samurai. "Be brave okay. Those samurai. . .They can't hurt you with me around, ok?"

    I nodded my head.

    If only that were true. But you aren't around, are you father? You're dead.

"Ok!"

Erichin mountain pass

2001

Day 3

      I looked over at Okonayami and she smiled.

"Don't let her bother you, senpai." She said. She was referring to the girl dressed in red. "If she talks bad about you I'll cut her."

     Her words, even though playful, were scary.

"Please don't do that." I said.

"Alright," Daizaiel shouted. "According to memory. We should be nearing Kanzai by now."

"What's Kanzai?" Okonayami asked.

"It's a district, like Meirochi. But the samurai here are acceptable.

"You mean, they're harmless?" I asked.

"There's no such thing as a harmless samurai." Razael said. "Seikon and his men cannot directly communicate with these samurai. Their only means of conversing is through bird mail so they cannot corrupt them easily."

"I see."

    Now, I had no more questions. I'd just follow everyone, every step of the way. For I needed them now, more than they could possibly need me. I've lost my home so I'll have to grow accustomed to travelling with them. Go where they go, do what they do. Hopefully, at the end of it all, I'd be satisfied with the way I had lived. And die happily, with no more regrets.

       For I have too many, already.