Dealing with Devils Pt. 2

After a long walk through the streets, we stopped in a dark alleyway.

"This... is a weird spot to catch our breaths," I said.

"Catch our breaths?" Alice scoffed. "We're goddesses, darling. We don't need to catch our breaths."

"Then why are we here?"

"Hm... I suppose you could say... It's to tie up loose ends."

"...Eh?"

I then felt a looming presence emanating from right behind me. My heartbeat hastened just as quickly as a bad feeling washed over me. 'Loose ends?' What does she mean by that? It can't be that they're going to... kill me, right?

Slowly, my head twisted, and what I saw next could only be described as the most hideous monster known to mankind.

"Boo!" Lana shouted as she jabbed me in the hip.

"Agh! Ow! W-what the...?!"

"Aw~ Is Aikami ticklish? Well, there's more where that came from!"

I kept backing away in a panic until I accidentally stumbled into Chloe's arm. Upon seeing her face, I almost fainted on the spot.

"Ah!" With a yelp, I pushed myself off of her. "S-sorry, Chloe! Don't... hurt me...?"

I hesitated when I saw her bright smile as she giggled. "Hehe, it's okay, Aikami. Were you startled?"

"W-wha...?"

"We just wanted to mess with ya a bit," Lana grinned. "Did you actually think we were gonna kill ya?"

"I mean... That's what it seemed like."

"Oh, come on. Give us a bit of credit here. I know mythologies and whatnot like to paint us as evil witches, but we aren't that evil. Um... For the most part anyway."

I took a moment to calm my nerves, breathing in and out while clutching my chest. Even though it was meant to be a prank, it was a reminder to me that the possibility is still there. If I slip up and manage to piss one of them off, who knows what'll happen to me? I can't believe I was actually okay with this. Not like I even had a choice anyway...

"Was that really necessary?" I muttered.

"Loosen up, Aikami," Alice smiled. "Trust me. If we wanted you dead, we would've done it a lot sooner. Of course, you know that, don't you?"

"...Sure... Anyway, what are we doing in this alleyway?"

"Ah, right. The mall is still about twenty minutes away, and since we want to maximize the time we spend with you, we're going to take a shortcut. For research purposes, might I add."

"Okay. I guess that makes sense. So how exactly is this place supposed to be a shortcut?"

I could've sworn I saw a deceitful smirk on Lana's face when she suddenly grabbed my hand. "You ready, Aikami?"

"Huh? W-wai—"

"Great!"

Just then, we were engulfed by a bright blue light. The next second, we found ourselves in a completely different environment. My leg hit something hard, sending me back onto a seat but not without dragging Lana with me, as she was still holding my hand. With a thud, we fell into an awkward position.

My back was pressed against a wall while Lana was hovering over me with her other hand pushing against the same wall. From here, I saw a lot more than I wanted to see. We locked eyes once again, and it felt like I was about to die from just that look alone.

"Your body still intact, Aikami?" she asked.

"I... t-think so...?" I gulped. "Wait, no, no, no, w-what just... I mean, wha—How did we..."

"Relax, relax! Ain't nothing to worry about," She then looked around to assess our surroundings. "A photo booth, huh? I guess that's as concealed as it's gonna get."

"Wait, hold on. What just happened?!"

"Eh? Oh right, I sometimes forget that you're just a mortal. We teleported, ya see. When I took your hand, we—"

Suddenly, the curtains next to us slid open, and the two people standing behind it stared at us for far longer than they needed to.

"S-sorry!" they shouted while pulling the curtain shut.

I know my face was beet red the whole time, but Lana didn't even look fazed.

"You know what? I think I'll just voluntarily die," I sighed.

"We won't let you," Lana rebuffed. "After all, we still need to figure out why your existence is defying fate."

"Chill. I didn't mean it literally. Let's just... go."

"Aw, do you not like being in a small room like this with me?"

"What?! That's not it!"

"Hehe~ We'll see about that."

Lana lifted herself off of me and left the photo booth. I joined her after collecting myself from such an embarrassing situation. What... is this?

One minute, we were in a dark alleyway and the next, we were standing at the center of a mall. Various stores were lined up all over the first and second floors. And of course... people... so many of them.

"What the..." I mumbled.

"Heh, welcome to the life of a god, Aikami," Lana smirked. "Now, I wonder where my sisters are. Hm... I guess we can get started in the meantime."

"Started? On what?"

"An experiment!"

With a flick of her fingers, an illusory thread attached itself to my chest before gradually disappearing.

"Alright," she grinned. "Go."

"Huh? What do you, 'go?' What am I supposed to do?

"Anything. I'm just here to see if the thread will work the way it's supposed to."

"Okay, so what does the thread say?"

"That's for me to observe. If you follow the path that I made for you, then all is well. If you don't... Eh. We'll figure it out if it comes to that."

"You make it sound so ominous."

"Oh well. Now, get going."

I reluctantly stepped away from her and assessed my surroundings. I haven't been to the mall in years, and it doesn't seem like much has changed. That fast food joint is still in the exact same spot, but that one overpriced jewelry store is gone. Serves them right. A single necklace was worth two months of rent for me.

With still no direction, I went to buy some fries from the fast food joint. After making my order, I stood to the side and waited. My eyes peaked over at Lana, who was sitting in a small lounge area, watching my every movement. This feels so strange.

"Um... Excuse me," someone said.

I turned around to see two girls who looked just about my age. They were holding their phones to their chests with smiles on their faces.

"W-we were wondering if you could give us your Line ID," one of them said sheepishly.

At that moment, I completely blanked out. My head tilted left and right to see that no one was next to me.

"Me?" I asked while pointing at myself.

"Yeah!" the other one grinned.

"Eh?!"

This is new. Not once in my entire life have I ever been asked to exchange Line IDs. This doesn't seem like a prank either, for they had noticeable blushes on their cheeks. As flustered as I was, I mustered the courage to speak up.

"S-sorry," I said as politely as possible. "I don't give my line ID to people whom I just met."

"Oh... is that so?" they mumbled. "Then... sorry to bother you."

That was weird. Extremely weird. I'm not the most social person in the world. Unlike those popular kids at school, I don't give out my line ID as if it were candy. Having to answer one person's text is a hassle already, let alone multiple people at once. Granted, it has only ever happened to me once or twice, but my case still stands.

"Order for Yoshino Asahi!" the cashier called out.

"Thank you," I said.

I took out a fry and ate, surprised that it was actually pretty good. When I made it back to Lana, she was taking notes on a small booklet.

Wait... Where did that thing even come from? I don't recall her having a purse or anything to hold it. Hold on, is she wearing glasses? Where the hell...?

"Interesting, interesting," she said with a deductive tone, shutting the booklet in between her fingers. "The moment you receive a thread, it disappears almost immediately. Even now, the one that I gave you no more than five minutes ago is no longer there—a truly defiant act against the Goddesses of Fate."

I lowered the small box of fries next to her face before she could say any more.

"Want some?" I asked. "They're extra crispy today. Must've come straight out of the fryer."

"Oh. Thanks." She snatched a couple and ate them all in one go. "Oh wow. They are crisp—Wait! Hey! Hold on! I was in the middle of monologuing!"

"Uh... My bad?"

She crossed her arms, irritated. "Hmf. You're lucky I'm a kind goddess. As an apology, gimme the rest of your fries."

I took one last look at the precious fries in my hands. Parting ways is never an easy thing, but sometimes... you just have to let go.

"Fine," I muttered.

"Oh, hey! Honestly, I didn't expect you to give it up so easily." She snatched the box out of my hand and ate like, ten at once. "Damn, that's yummy."

"Glad you're enjoying it. Anyway, how come Chloe and Alice haven't caught up to us yet?"

"They have. In fact, I think they're—"

"Lana! Aikami!" shouted a distant voice.

We both turned to see Chloe and Alice hauling bags upon bags of designer-brand items. What the... Were they just shopping on their own this whole time?