NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: The girl with a twisted sense of love.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to win with this thing!?" A middle school boy shouts, pointing down at the phone in his hand. As they sat at a bench in the park, the boy and his two classmates gathered around playing games with each other. They each had their phones out, but the boy in the middle seems to be oddly terrible at the FPS they were all playing.
"You've got to add more attachments, dude. The recoil is seriously doing a number on you," The long-nosed boy beside him says, rubbing the back of his head while trying to explain the flaw in his weapon loadout. "You should try getting a grip first, that makes things easier, sometimes!"
"Agh! I'm not even level 5 yet, how am I supposed to get a grip!? What kind of game makes attachments level-based!?" Once again, the boy, whose eye sockets appeared to be completely empty, complained. If anyone competent player heard him, they'd probably laugh right in his face. Thankfully, his friends were more supportive than any stranger that was giggling as they pass by.
Though, their conversation comes to a halt when suddenly, the eyeless boy's phone flies out of his hand, shooting up into the air. "W-Woah! My phone! Takashi, my phone!" The boy says as he and his friends look up to see the phone suspended in the air.
The quiet, third classmate stands to his feet, scratching his chin before crouching down. His pants seem to tighten around his legs as his muscles expand and contract against the material, and soon, he launches himself into the air, leaving dust behind him.
Right when he was about to grab the phone out of the air, it suddenly moves around him in a circle, leaving the boy puzzled. The boy remains quiet, but he couldn't understand why the phone suddenly moved around. 'Is someone screwing with me here?'
Failing to grab the phone, the boy falls back down to the ground with a thud but doesn't seem to be harmed by the fall at all. His legs were very durable.
Soon though, following a sharp chirp from a child across the park, the phone falls back down, and the eyeless boy is quick to catch it before it can hit the ground. "Phew!" The boy exhales, wiping the sweat from his forehead. If his phone were broken, his parents might've really killed him!
* * * *
Across the park, Kimiko Yonamine stood behind her youngest—now 7 years old—daughter, eyes that contained a raging flame gazing down at the child. "What did I say about messing with other people's things, Rimi!?" The woman scolds the child, having just smacked her in the back of her head because of her antics.
Rimi was still rubbing her aching dome, holding back the tears that threatened to slip down her face. When she'd seen the boys playing with their phones, she couldn't help but see them as potential training partners. They looked so silly, playing around with those devices.
She'd seen many people play games on phones in the past, but she's never experienced it herself. If they could play around with their phones, why couldn't she? It only seems fair to share your toys. "What's the big deal?" The child turns to her mother, her cheeks puffing out. "They were playing with their phones too! They are just toys!"
In the end, although Rimi had grown physically, she was only a child. In fact, her body was slowly approaching the age that she'd last died in. She knew that phones had many utility apps for the user's convenience, but she'd never actually experienced what it's like to play games on one. Yuudai usually laughed at her because she completely misunderstood basic things, such as arcade machines, table tennis, and other things that you'd think of when mentioning the word "fun".
Kimiko sighs, rubbing her daughter's head. "Even if you think it's a toy, it's not right for you to play with another person's stuff without asking. You've been bored lately, haven't you?" The woman smiles, already knowing the answer. Rimi did not want to admit it, but ever since Madoka moved with their grandparents to attend Seiai Academy, Rimi has been bored out of her mind.
What do most children her age do when they're bored? Cause trouble, of course! Rimi and Yuudai have already been scolded by both of their parents for causing a ruckus at their elementary schools. Only a week ago, Rimi had a child suspended in the air for 10 minutes while they thrashed around. She was told off by her teacher, mother, and even Hiroko! The worst situation came in the form of Rimi and Yuudai getting into a massive fight with children from another school: they won, but that only worsened their punishment.
"...Of course not." The child lies, turning her head away. Kimiko didn't need an honest answer from her anyway.
"You should try making new friends, Rimi. You're 7 now, and I really can't have you and Yuudai together all the time," Kimiko pauses, thinking to herself, 'That's a disaster waiting to happen.'
Rimi was deep in thought as well, feeling a pain in her chest. The last time she'd tried to make a friend, it was the radio-quirk user, Hana. Rimi isn't sure what happened to her after that incident, and she also isn't sure what happened to many of the children—many details about the situation were kept hidden.
The image of Hana's thrashing body stained her mind, but, Rimi shakes her head to wash the thoughts away. "You might be right." Lifting her head, Rimi gives her mother a smile. She's become conscious of the fact that her mother is acutely aware of any change in her's emotions, but she still futilely tries to put on a happy face when it counts.
Kimiko smiles at her daughter's willingness to talk with someone new. She knew most of the details about what happened that day; about how Rimi and Yuudai's attempt at making a friend ended in the girl having her head crushed. She was proud of the girl for being able to move past that trauma, or at least repress those horrible thoughts. "You can walk around the park, just call for me if you need me."
Kimiko was fine letting her daughter walk around, there were many adults around, and both of their dogs were somewhere nearby, possibly sniffing other dogs themselves. Marble and Pearl have gotten along a lot more recently, or rather, Marble has surrendered to the fact that he can never escape Pearl, who's become very fond of him. Rimi actually feels bad for the poor dog. He can't walk around without Pearl following him, intimidating any of the female dogs that approached him.
"I won't go far!" Waving as she ran, Rimi looked around the park for anything that might be fun. There was a playground at the center where many children were playing, but she was hesitant to go over there.
* * * *
Rimi is very bad at socializing with other children. Her friendship with Yuudai was the result of him approaching her first. In fact, Yuudai's vengeance for Rimi's cold behavior toward him was in the form of her having to talk with several children at their kindergarten, which ended up with her suddenly vanishing from the room mid-conversation. Worst of all, she was found throwing up in the hallway by the kindergarten teacher. One thing led to another, and Madoka, who was still around at the time, ended up shedding tears in her fit of laughter.
The girl decides that she should start off interacting with a smaller group, or preferably a lone child.
Unfortunately, no matter how much she looked around, she struggled to find anyone she could confidently approach. There were not many kids who were reclusive like her. Even when she found a child alone, she couldn't approach them. It was difficult even to start a conversation, let alone have a normal one.
"I'd hate to say this but," Rimi speaks to herself as she walks, huffing in frustration. "I miss Yuudai." Things were much simpler when he was around. If she asked him to, he'd be willing to start a conversation with anyone that she found intriguing.
Rimi freezes when she hears an unsettling noise—or lack thereof. Nearby, the sound of a crying bird was abruptly silenced. Rimi hadn't even noticed the sound until it was gone, which left her even more shocked when it was cut off mid-chirp.
Hesitantly, Rimi musters up some courage and approaches the area where she'd last heard the chirping. Even if she wasn't paying attention, she could still pinpoint its origin since it was so close. Just past the line of bushes, she'd see what happened.
Skillfully pushing branches out of her way, having become much better at moving through bushes after learning from Yuudai, Rimi comes out on the opposite side of the bush and is met with a patch of blonde hair in her face which startles her. "Woah!" The girl says, nearly falling back into the bush in shock.
Rimi catches herself and is also supported by the bushes, quickly calming herself down when the person she'd seen turns to look in her direction. Rimi feels like she's seen the girl before, though, she isn't sure where they'd met. Maybe she attended the same daycare as her a while ago?
The child looks just as surprised at Rimi at first, only staring at the girl, her bright, yellow eyes gleaming vibrantly.
"Uhm, hello?" Rimi straightens herself and tries to initiate a conversation with the girl, growing tired of the awkward silence.
The blonde-haired child blinks before she starts speaking, her body slowly shifting. "Hey!" Contrary to her prior confusion, the child spoke enthusiastically. This is what led to the shift in the atmosphere becoming more worrying when the child turns to reveal what she was holding.
In her hands, there was a bloody sparrow; a dead one. The child held the bird carefully as if it were a delicate gift.
Only after Rimi saw the child open her mouth to smile did a memory spark in her mind.
Her sharp canines were perfect for puncturing skin. Her uniform looked like it was perfect for her; as if she'd look odd without it. Her dirty blonde hair complimented her uniform even more.
She had seen her before, but she still couldn't recount when. She cannot remember her name, but she knows that she needs to. It's imperative that she does.
Rimi has developed a forbearance for gruesome sights, she just didn't expect to see a child her age holding a dead bird with a smile on her face. "Did you..." Rimi doesn't finish her sentence, pointing at the bird in the child's hands.
The schoolgirl doesn't turn away from Rimi, already knowing what she's pointing at. The girl nods her head, thrilled at someone sharing the romantic scene with her. "Yeah! It's so pretty, isn't it!?" Another spark was set off in Rimi's mind, but she couldn't unlock the distant memory.
Rimi tilts her head at the girl's words, confused. "What's pretty about it?" Somehow, Rimi's initial surprise has turned into interest.
"It's red," the child explains, "something about it is just beautiful, it's romantic!" Rimi squints at the girl's words, unsure what to make of them. She couldn't understand the beauty behind blood, not when it haunted her in this new life.
"But, the bird is dead. How is that romantic?" Rimi questions and the schoolgirl answers without hesitation.
"Death can make you pretty. Showing your blood is a sign of love!" The schoolgirl had an interesting perspective indeed, one that Rimi admittedly found disgusting. "It'll hurt people," Rimi counters.
Rather than responding with words, the child giggles and strokes a hand over the bird carcass. Somehow, this annoys Rimi, but even though she is annoyed, she is a slave to her instincts and becomes more fascinated.
Fully exiting the bush, Rimi steps around the girl and plants herself down beside her. It's quite a sight from an outsider's perspective. A murderer and a sadist sitting together. "What's your name? I'm Yonamine, Rimi Yonamine."
Rimi doesn't know what led her to introduce herself. They had two completely different, but for some reason, Rimi feels like they are very similar. The way the girl behaved, or rather, her tendencies proved that she might've been outcasted in some way.
"I'm Toga! Himiko Toga!" With the introduction, the sparks in Rimi's memories ignited into a mighty flame of evocation. Finally, she remembers who the girl is.
That's when Rimi understands why the girl feels similar to her. Rimi, a past murderer, has been speaking with Toga, a future murderer.
Toga's smile grows bigger when she looks in Rimi's direction. Rimi had not noticed it, but she'd unconsciously started smiling for some reason. It was a relief, knowing that there was someone like her. Even if it was immoral, she realized that there was someone much like her, who'd go on to commit terrible deeds, and she was happy. Although Toga killed for her own twisted reason; her unordinary sense of love, Rimi killed because it's all she knew.
Toga rarely held malevolent intentions. Even when wielding a knife against Izuku Midoriya, who could swiftly detect danger, there was no sign of evil behind her actions. She genuinely believed that killing and sucking blood from people was a viable form of love.
Rimi, who roughly knew the girl's future, chose to suppress those thoughts at that moment. 'She'll become me, in the future. I could stop her right now, I could kill this child before she has the chance to kill innocent people. But, I don't want to. I need to see it with my own eyes; what will become of her when she falls into depravity.'
Quickly, she snaps out of her trance. Rimi doesn't know what overcame her just now, but she felt a disgusting feeling in her gut. She was puzzled by her own mind; why would she ever think of witnessing another person's descent into her old life?
Rimi realizes that she's been zoned out, and Toga has gone back to stroking the deceased bird. "Here, give me that!" Suddenly, the bird floats out of Toga's hand. 'What was I just thinking about? What sort of horrible thoughts were those, wishing for someone to become like me?' Even if Toga was predetermined to become a killer, Rimi should've hoped for the girl to become better. Though, also she knows that it's an impossible outcome.
The bird vanishes from in front of the two, forcefully being thrown off somewhere to the side. "Come on, you'll get in trouble if you're caught with that!" Rimi reaches out and takes the girl's hand, hoping to expiate her selfish thoughts. Toga looks like she wants to protest, but Rimi just pulls her along anyway.
* * * *
Things were not as simple as Rimi hoped. Although Toga was willing to be dragged along by the girl, many of the children were too nervous to play with the two of them. Toga gave off an unsettling aura that frightened most of them away.
'I guess at this point, they might think she's creepy.' Although Toga didn't appear much different than other children, Rimi was very aware of the aura around the girl. If she were any normal child, she might've been hesitant in approaching the girl too.
"This is a lot harder than I thought it'd be," Rimi admits, turning back to Toga. "I wanted to help you play with some of the kids, but I guess between me being bad at talking and..." Rimi examines Toga for a bit, and the girl just idly stands there, grinning.
"Nevermind, we'll find something better to do. Something that doesn't involve killing birds." Toga squints but doesn't say anything. It was so brief that Rimi didn't even notice. "What's wrong with love?" Toga asks, drawing Rimi's attention completely.
"Nothing!" Rimi raises her hands defensively. "It's just, your love might hurt people, and some people don't want to be hurt! Especially animals." Rimi says with a nod as if she were agreeing with herself. Of course, Toga couldn't help but disagree with these words, but they definitely reached her ears. At this point, Toga was much more impressionable, she was much younger—before her junior high years when her change would be complete.
"But, I think your way of loving is unique." By now, Rimi has given up on trying to get to the girl. It's not like she has the right to. Toga's fate was decided when she was born. She will grow up to become a villain who kills people. But, Rimi can't help but wonder about the consequences of getting involved with the girl.
"Ah! We can play with my dogs!" Shifting the subject before Toga can respond, Rimi remembers that Marble and Pearl are wandering around the park. Rimi was nervous that Toga might try and bite her pets, but she remembers that Pearl is a german shepherd; she could easily handle a child.
"Dogs!?" Toga's eyes lit up with a passion that surprised Rimi, reminding Rimi that she too was still an innocent child at this point. It seems that even she likes dogs! "Yeah!" Rimi says, "I've got two dogs! We can play with them!" Entertaining their boredom with the help of the dogs would certainly work, especially since Pearl, a larger dog who Rimi used to ride, was present.
"Come on!" With a delightful grin, Rimi pulls Toga across the park to where Marble was running around, trying his best to escape Pearl with his smaller legs. The poor dog could not escape her, he had no chance.
