[Phantom Pain of Rousoku Himawari] Sweet Death

The darkened sky was dominated by a full blood moon. Everyone was shocked, confused, horrified, and angry all at once. Everything was supposed to go well. Rousoku was supposed to peacefully pass on. It all went to hell in an instant. Everyone had questions, but the most pressing issue was finding Rousoku.

Shinju marched beneath the whistle of the swaying trees in the woodlands, taking the dirt path towards the cemetery. A shockwave of anger permeated from her every, stomping step. Her fearsome, blue eyes didn't blink as she focused her gaze in the direction of the cemetery.

(Love destroys everything.)

Beams of angelic moonlight kissed Shinju's face. Even on this cold night, her ears felt hot with anger and anticipation. Her stomach twisted and turned itself over as her chest tightened.

(It is an unforgiving torrent of violence that tears our very hearts from our chests. The most wonderful thing about it? It's our own fault. It's my fault. It's the fault of Osamu Ashikaga.)

Arriving at the peak of the hill overlooking the cemetery, Shinju leaned on the nearby tree for rest. After all of her time tracking down Rousoku, she knew for certain she'd find her here. The only thing she needed to know was in what form. The answer could be seen below. Many of the graves had been exhumed, the corpses within pulled out and torn to pieces The wind served Shinju a putrescent stench that upset her nervous stomach even more.

Corpses of all conditions, fresh and colorful, old and black, bloated and green, male and female, adult and child, were all scattered about the graveyard. Only one person moved and breathed among the dead. Rousoku Himawari. In her thin, tattered, black dress, Rousoku's body had clearly grown a bit larger.

Her arms were much longer, her hair more matted and filthy, and her teeth looked like they belonged in the mouth of a demon. All of the gentle and timorous aspects of Rousoku were gone, like an angel stripped of her wings and halo. All that remained was a monstrous shell of the woman she once was.

"So that's what happened to you...you're a Jikininki." Shinju whispered.

A brew of vexation and disgust washed over Shinju as she watched Rousoku pull out yet another corpse from its resting place, chomping down on its bloated leg and rotten flesh. Watching a Jikininki eat felt more like watching an addict get his fix than anything else.

Her next bite ripped open the corpse's gaseous, leaking belly. Most of its intestines had already turned into a putrid, gastrointestinal soup of rot and decay, a soup that Rousoku delightfully lapped up with her tongue

"It's so good! I love it! More! Give me more!" Rousoku screamed.

She proceeded to rip the head away from the body with both hands. It came off with relative ease thanks to the weakened flesh and brittle spinal cord. Not a hair remained on the head in its state of decomposition, and the tongue had grown so swollen that it stuck out like a ball gag. Rousoku's ripped off the facial skin of the head, revealing the brown, decayed skull beneath.

Rousoku halted her rotten feast, realizing she had been caught dining on human corpses. She slowly turned her head towards Shinju, her lips covered in black bile and intestinal fluid.

"Of all possible outcomes, this is the worst one." Shinju said.

"Shinju? Is that you?" Rousoku asked.

"I should be the one asking you that question. I'm surprised you're still lucid enough to talk, Rousoku."

Rousoku's shocked expression quickly darkened. Despite her monstrous state, Rousoku still possessed the humanity to feel shame, to understand the punitive heartbreak of her grotesque actions.

"I don't want to do this...I really don't! Please Shinju! Please help me!"

In reality, it was Shinju who was the most ashamed. No one could've possibly guessed that the lunar eclipse would happen days earlier than ordained, but Shinju was the one tending to Rousoku when it all happened. Rousoku entrusted her very soul to Shinju, and she failed. Now, looking at the result of her failure, it took everything she had to not break down and cry, because there was only one thing anyone could do for Rousoku now.

"You've already passed the point of no return." Shinju said. "We have no choice. I'm sorry, Rousoku."

"What will happen to me?! Will I...."

The severity of the situation finally dawned upon Rousoku. She had been given, in clear terms, a death sentence. There was no room to save her, no loophole to at least give her a nonviolent ending. She could no longer be exorcised peacefully. She had to be vanquished, and it would be brutal.

"No...that...I'm not ready to leave! I don't want to pass on! I don't want to die again! I can't!" Rousoku screamed.

Rousoku quickly fled the scene, fleeing on all fours like a wild animal. She moved too fast for Shinju to do anything, and she, as an exorcist, knew the dangers of letting a Jikininki roam free. She cursed under her breath as Rousoku disappeared beyond the thick trees and bushes, running in the opposite direction to take the fastest route back to the neighborhood. As she ran, she called Osamu's cell, but the ringer kept going with no answer.

"Pick up, Osamu! You're in danger!"

Just when Shinju was about to hang up, Osamu answered. "Shinju? Where's Rousoku?"

"It's bad! She's morphed into a Jikininki! Fucking blood moon!"

"Jikininki? I don't understand. What is that?"

"Look, I'll explain later! Just make sure you stay your ass out of the streets tonight! Do you have that backpack with you? The one I brought earlier?"

"Yeah, it's right here!"

"Okay. I'm dropping by your place to get a few supplies. See you in a minute."

Shinju hung up and was immediately called by Taeko. She answered immediately, sprinting her way to Osamu's place.

"Taeko!" Shinju panted.

"I think I just saw our girl, Shinju." Taeko said.

"Yeah, I ran into her in the cemetery near Osamu's house. It's a Jikininki! Can you keep tracking her? I'm getting a few supplies before I chase after her."

"Okay, will do!"

"What happened with that ritual? It wasn't supposed to go down like that! We did everything right! Why the hell am I looking up at a massive blood moon right now?"

"We'll have to figure it out later. Right now, just focus on vanquishing Rousoku."

"Fuck! Fine! Just keep me posted!"

Shinju stopped in front of Yoko's house, frantically banging on the front door. Osamu immediately opened it up and let her inside.

"The backpack?" Shinju asked, wasting no time.

"It's on the island! The kitchen!" Osamu answered.

Yoko, Izanami, and Tsukiakari all sat around the island, having heard what happened during the ritual. It was nearing midnight. The girls should've all been asleep by that hour, but they were all far too worried for Rousoku.

They had no idea what was going to happen to her. Izanami broke down in tears as Yoko rubbed her back and leaned her head against her shoulder, close to crying herself. No one wanted this to happen, and as soon as Shinju rushed into the kitchen for the backpack, they knew none of this would end well.

Shinju then called Cyanide, putting him on speaker and sitting her phone down on the countertop as she ripped open the backpack.
"Oi, Shinju. I just talked to the boss. Looks like we have a terrible situation on our hands, eh?" Cyanide said.

"Yeah, we do. She was eating a corpse in the cemetery by Osamu's neighborhood. The last time we saw her, she was a wandering spirit. Now, it appears she's transformed into a Jikininki"

"She was eating corpses, right? That sounds about right, then." Cyanide sighed. "Jikininki is written as you may have guessed, with the kanji for 'Eat', 'Person' and 'Ghost'. Hence, it is a spirit that eats human corpses. They usually feed at night, and they'll go looking around for the freshest corpses they can find."

"Damn it, which means she's probably on the move as we speak." Shinju hissed.

"She...was eating corpses?" Osamu recoiled.

(Rousoku? Why? Why, of all things, is this your fate? Why is this how it all ends for you?)

"Anything else we should know, Cyanide?" Shinju asked.

"They hide during daylight hours, and they grow more and more rabid with every corpse they eat. If she's a new Jikininki, then she must still have a bit of her humanity still. It was smart of you to secure Osamu first, Shinju."

"What? Why exactly was that smart of her? Because I could be her target?" Osamu questioned.

"I doubt she'd target you. Like I said, Jikininki feed on corpses."

Osamu's eyes widened in sickening horror. "You're trying to say she'll target Izanami..."

"Me?" Izanami asked, her face soaked in tears.

"And with her pregnant, she won't be able to defend herself if she's alone." Shinju said. "Osamu, I need to get rid of Rousoku right now. Tsukiakari will watch over everyone as usual, but Taeko and I are the first line of defense. We have to be the ones to vanquish her."

(...Stop your shivering, Osamu. This is your fault. You have a great share of blame in this. You always will. At the very least...I need to see her vanquished. I need to make sure she departs from this world, one way or another. I can never fix this monumental mistake. I can never erase this damning sin of mine. But I can take action, right here and now. Muster up your bravery...stop being afraid. Face it all head on...)

With the faint flame of resolve in his eyes, Osamu straightened his posture and calmed his erratic breath. He knew exactly what he had to do for Rousoku. It broke his heart into pieces, but he accepted it all the same.

"I'll go too." Osamu said. "Please. This is my fault. I have to be there for her."

Under any other circumstance, Shinju would've refused outright. But this time, she couldn't find it in her heart to deny Osamu. He loved Rousoku dearly. The agony in his eyes made that painfully clear to everyone in the room. The ritual failed under her watch, making Shinju feel even more responsible.

"I'm sorry..." Shinju said.

(I had hoped that it would never come to this.)

Shinju and Osamu ran up and down the streets of the neighborhood to find Rousoku, to no avail. After all their running, they stopped under a street light to catch their breath. The sounds of aimless wind and excited crickets filled the night, the haunting blood moon hanging above their heads.

"When...when I first heard her...she was crying. So, we need to listen...listen out for the sounds of crying." Shinju panted.

"Got it..." Osamu said.

"...Are you okay? You seem awfully...quiet."

Osamu nodded. "I'm okay."

Shinju's phone suddenly rang. It was Taeko. She answered the call and put her on speaker phone.

"Shinju, you there?" Taeko asked.

"Yeah. I've got Osamu with me. I told Tsukiakari to stay at the house with Izanami, too."

"Good. I've found Rousoku. She's sitting by the beach right now." Taeko said. "She's not doing anything, but it's only a matter of time before whatever's left of her humanity goes. She'll have no control over herself once that happens."

"Okay, we'll get down there ASAP." Shinju said. "Let's go, Osamu."

Osamu nodded. "...Yeah."

Rousoku sat on the beach, her eyes as black as night and her mouth stuffed with the decapitated arm of a human corpse. The wind swayed her hair to the side with a gentle lift, each strand casting a dancing shadow upon the infinite grains of pale sand. The waves glimmered with moonlight, washing up by her dirtied feet.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection as the waters kissed her toes. Thought it was far too dark to see anything in detail, her silhouette in the reflection showed her more than she wanted to see. Her very frame and form had lost its humanity. With just one look at her arms and hands, she saw how elongated her limbs had gotten and how her nails had morphed into razor-sharp talons.

Maintaining a coherent thought became more difficult by the second. Rousoku couldn't believe what was happening to her. She wanted to scream and rage, but all she could do was cry, her tears washed away by the gentle waves. No one could save her now.