Dull Eyes. 010

Accidentally but at the same time intentionally. I don't get it. Her eyes which were once sparkly grey slowly got dimmer as soon as she said it. She wasn't holding any kind of expression while uttering out that confession. "You heard me right. Your choice to believe me."

"I believe you."

"Good then."

"Honestly not surprising."

"Can read that from your face."

"Is this what's bothering you?"

"Ever since. I live with this fear, with this truth."

"I see. Hope you can move on one day."

"Hope so too. People must move on and forget all the ugliness from the past."

"Yeah. That's what I meant." Lana came back after a while. Surprisingly Carrie seemed to have managed to befriend Lana somehow. Is Carrie good at this? All three of us chatted off during lunch time like three best friends who've known each other for several years. Do I really consider these people my friends? I wonder. 

Lana decided to tell me what she had been meaning to tell me after school. That seems to be a better idea since there wouldn't be so many people around like now with this cafeteria filled with hustle and bustle. Me and Carrie were done with ours and Lana was the last one to finish her meal. Denis happened to pass by and caught us all sitting together in one table. 

"Damn, I never knew you had friends, Keiko."

"Is that what you really thought of me?"

"Well yeah."

"Also, you're calling me just Keiko, unbelievable!"

"It indeed is. I decided to go by as your word."

"Finally, you listened."

"Anyways. Let's meet after school at the same place, shall we?"

"Um, no can do. I am grounded."

"That sucks. I'll think of another way to meet up with you."

"Alright then." With that, he waved me a 'goodbye for now' and left. Carrie and Lana started giving me the side-eyes and smirked at me. Oh god no…did they misunderstand too???

"Is that your boyfriend?" Came the very obvious question from Lana. Seems like Carrie was intending on asking the same too as she nodded after Lana's interrogation.

"Hell no. He is not my boyfriend. We both just happened to b acquainted with each other, that's all."

"Oohhhhhh. I see I see…if you say so, then fine." I don't think Lana and Carrie seemed to be convinced about my reply. They didn't seem to be trusting me. But eventually they decided to trust me as I did not get flustered over this. 

"Are you ever planning on getting one?" The question came from Carrie this time.

"Nope. Don't think I'll ever get one."

"I see." She didn't interrogate me any further. She just left it. Lunch break seemed to have gotten over now so I headed back to class. Or so, I thought. Carrie was standing outside of my class. 

"Why aren't you in your own class?" I asked displaying a puzzled expression.

"Just, tell your teacher to use the restroom and come outside."

"…Okay?" I did as she said. As soon as I walked out, Carrie grabbed my folded right hand and swiftly dragged me to the girls' restroom. This totally doesn't seem okay! Why is she suddenly dragging me to the girls' restroom?! She made me lean on one of the walls, there didn't seem to have been anyone else in the restroom during this time. Everyone must be in class. She stood in front of me, looked into my eyes with hers and this seemed as if she is asking me to compete in an intense staring contest against her. Why…? Her dull grey eyes started to regain their lost shine. "Um, Carrie, what are you intending on doing???" 

"..." She just stood there, silent. She didn't want to stop looking into my eyes. "Look here, Keiko. I know what you are." She finally spoke. 

"What do you mean…?"

"Don't play dumb here, you can't escape me now."

"I really am not sure about what you're talking about now." She backed off, raised her right arm and pointed at my chest, no, my neck. Right at my necklace which was winded around my neck. "This?"

"Yes, that." She came closer and took out the necklace. "This thing right here is not an ordinary object." She held the gem of the necklace with her right hand and started rubbing it. The more she rubbed, the more shine it emitted. This is possible? So, does that mean…she knows about these necklaces too? Is she also an element user like I assumed her to be?

"Carrie, are you the same as me?"

"Yes, you could say that." Her grey eyes for some reason started getting darker and darker until it turned completely pitch-black. It's as if her iris suddenly gained extra melanin. Suddenly another grotesquery appeared out from behind Carrie's back accompanied by purple flames. Carrie is revealing the entity that resides within her…? "Only you can see it for now."

"Nyarhaha. I am Nekokami. The entity who resembles a black cat, well now I'm corrupted and I display a ghastlier figure but still. Where is my pal Makkura at?"

"Be patient, alright?"

"Nyarah, fine, mistress." Carrie's entity seemed to have more respect towards her unlike mine which doesn't even give a rat's tail about it. Makkura doesn't look like the type to ever use any honorifics for a 'foolish brat' like me. Nekokami's name is such an obvious translation to the words 'cat' and 'god'. Who even names these entities, I wonder? Do they choose their names or does someone name them as such???

"Long time no see, Neko." The wicked voice came out and was slowly followed by the appearance of a grotesquery with the evolution of pitch-black smoke. "Grahah, thou have not changed." 

"Think I'll always be the same." Uttered the grotesquery who only possessed one eye like a cyclops. It looked as terrifying as Makkura but even worse that it had it's fangs sticking out with no lips nor any outer layering for it's mouth. Unlike Makkura, this murderous-looking figure right here seemed to have a slightly more polite way of speaking. It looked as if it was slowly getting decomposed by maggots and other scavenging creatures. But, it was still alive. It's condition doesn't seem to be doing good though, that is, from the outside. It's iris was as blue as the ocean. It doesn't seem to be having a tongue inside that wide mouth it's got there. It doesn't seem to be having the ability to secrete any saliva, of course, it can't without a tongue. Makkura has got a long long baby-pink colored tongue wet with saliva. It's as if Makkura's salivary glands secrete saliva 24/7. Enough describing, I better get to the actual point. These beasts have got crazy features. 

"Now now, Keiko." Carrie came closer and closer, so close that I could feel the heat of her body already. "I possess the element of death. You heard me right, the element capable of putting someone to death with ease." 

"Didn't expect there to be one which had such a capability."

"This curse of mine is what I killed my father with."

"And you did that accidentally but still intentionally…?"

"I didn't expect myself to have killed him on that day with this curse." She said but there was a pause. I feel like she had something else to say. As expected, leaving a short gap, she then said, "I've always had the desire to kill him off one day, that old fart doesn't deserve our love, doesn't deserve our care, our concerns nor does he deserve living."