I LIKE TO TAKE IT SLOW (ROLL THE KATAMARI) (3)

"D... DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!"

I scream, pulling myself into the fetal position, clutching the rope next to me. He's not here, yet this memory... This painful, painful memory...

"He's... he's dead because of me... I killed him, didn't I...?"

We were such a happy family, until I decided to become a witch. Why did I have to do that? Why was I so selfish..? Why...?

...No, that's not right, now is it? People don't choose to become witches, they're born that way.

Does that make things any better, though? Doesn't that mean dad died, it's my fault, and I could never do anything about it...?

Fuck.... FUCK!!

I slam my fist into the ground, cracking the wood into splinters beneath me. Instinctively, I curl down to apologize. ...I know it's not real, but I still feel guilty for messing up dad's room.

Nnnnghh.... this world. This fucking world. It wants me to give up, doesn't it? It wants me to fall into despair, It wants me to find my place of comfort, my nostalgia, and live in it like a hollow husk. A zombie. An Anxi.

...It's working, though.

I can feel my body changing... liquefying, almost. The blue powder falling off and giving way to pastel watercolors.

We used to have so much fun as a family. We would eat together, play video games together, curl around the tatami while watching TV shows or singing karaoke together... Goddammit I'm reminiscing, aren't I...? They were cozier times... back when I was just a kid.

...But, like.

That was a decade ago, wasn't it?

When I found out I was a witch... our relationship eroded. Mom and dad kept pushing me to undergo magical suppression, and... well. I refused-- having heard horror stories about that treatment destroying your sense of self. We would fight and argue all the time, saying I was a demon child and other horrible shit like that....

...And when dad couldn't take it anymore, when the stresses of his work and fighting with me became just too much......

That's when mom started becoming more angry. More violent. Always saying everything was my fault. And well... I believed her. For the longest time, I believed her.

There's... still a part of me that believes her, isn't there?

I sigh, sitting up as I wipe the tears from my eyes. It's there I notice something. The curve of my face... doesn't feel quite right.

...

I look around, noticing my reflection in dad's standing mirror. He was always so self-conscious about his appearance, huh...?

I guess I took that from him.

...I gasp.

My face... It's become... snouted. I place a too-large hand upon it, feeling its shape and curves against my fingers. I look so hideous. So disgusting.

Whatever. There's no point in crying over any of this, yeah? It's too late... isn't it? Time to accept my fate and... be killed by my closest friends.

No, wait. I shouldn't let myself be so stuck in the past. But yet... how do I even move on...? It would be nice to just sit here and pretend like our family didn't fracture and splinter. Yet... I've sworn to fight against that, haven't I...? That sort of toxic nostalgia where you rewrite the past because you can't handle the present. I think that's why I became a magical girl... yeah.

...I, "think"?

How am I still able to think....?

Have I not fully given up yet? I guess that's the case.

But what do I do now...?

...?

For a second, I thought I saw a flash of something different in the mirror. Myself, before being transformed, yet with reddened skin and black horns. Demonic horns. S-strange...

Wait... d-demon...?

........

Without hesitating, I rush to my feet, making my way back to the living room. Mizuki-sensei was trying to get my attention, wasn't she? She was trying to save me, and I rejected her out of fear... I can apologize to her later. Right now, I need to get back to my friends.

Yet in the front window, I see... no one. No one? ...Huh.

No, that's not right. There's... headlights? Wait... headlights...? Getting bigger, and bigger... And is that... Asahi-sensei standing on the top...? Oh, fuck--

I try and open the front door, ...fumbling with the lock and only managing to pull the knob off in the process. Fuck it. Fucking... fuck it!! I'm not ready to give up now... not when I have so much on the line!!

Stepping away for a moment, I crouch down, steeling myself... before charging at the door. With minimal effort, I knock the damn thing off its hinges...

...connecting mind to body once more.

I gasp, re-emerging from... well, my mother, only to see Fueko-sensei driving her car directly at us.

"She's got a new mother now, you bitch...!!" She screams out as she drives her foot into the gas pedal. Atop the car is Asahi-sensei, chainsaw in hand, seemingly ready to make one desperate final attack.. ...I need to get out, Don't I?

I'm still partially stuck, though. I wiggle and strain, trying to break free... to no avail.

...W-well, at least I'm resilient?

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHH

The car makes impact, dislodging me and sending me flying out, tumbling to the ground. Pulling myself up, I almost miss Asahi-sensei slamming chainsaw against neck, grinding teeth against sludge before ultimately beheading my mother-- or... I guess... the Anxi that once was my mother.

Her... her head tumbles over, rolling towards me.

....Goodbye, mom.

Fueko-sensei spins her car around, pulling it up next to her corpse. Then, the three swarm her, attempting to look for something... or someone. Wait... I'm right here, you guys!!

I stand, almost falling over, before running to the group.

"S-shit... another Anxi!!" Asahi-sensei shouts out, looking past me.

Another one?! W-where....? I turn around, seeing... nothing.

No wait, she wasn't looking past me.

She was looking at me.

KRRRRRRRRAAAAAOOH

I feel a gust of wind penetrate my head as Fueko-sensei shoots at me, pulling me to the ground.

Asahi-sensei rushes over, moving to standing overtop me before I can even recover. Then, with a cold determination, she revs up her chainsaw.