SPECIAL - Terrors of the Light

I was there in the beginning until the end.

From the day she was born, I already saw promise. The threads she'd spin and weave would be the best this generation shall ever see. You see, she was a prodigy; the one-in-a-million chance of that trait appearing again. One that made the legend.

The genius of Lady Yuugure.

Lady Yuugure was a servant of Musubinokami—a miko, if you will, chosen out of the many inept commoners of ages past. Not that I've witnessed it for myself; everything was nothing but mere tales of the clan that figured out a thing or two of arts that'd exist somewhere in the future. It's yet to be discovered as of today, but I firmly believed in the development of mankind—we simply needed to graze at different meadows and imbibe waters from untouched streams. Soon, this ‘sacred’ and ‘secret’ technique shall come undone too.

However, that was a story for another time. This was ‘her’—Yukina's story.

I pushed open the door to the multi-purpose shop at the obscure part of the city. As if time had frozen around here, everything looked the same years before I left.

A young man, around his twenties perhaps, was shocked upon meeting me but carried on after giving me a slight, courteous bow. Standard service industry etiquette. The owner taught him nicely.

I observed the man as he went out, possibly for an errand, as he had his phone out and his coat on. Oh my, it's rather chilly out there. I needed to blend in or else.

“I'm surprised you've not resorted to cramming everything in an auction yet,” I said, running a finger atop a cabinet. No dust? Impressive.

“I have my ways,” the present owner said.

She's very attractive and quite frankly, everything a man could possibly dream of. Her physical beauty would surely snatch the hearts of many yet here she was, unable to accomplish anything. A useless existence.

There's no point facing her. In fact, it’d be strange to look if it’s not about watching her squirm like the filth she was. I'd rather observe this tiny snow globe as it's more appealing.

“The lineage finally taking her back?” she asked. She still knew her position? Good.

“I could care less about the clan; I was the one who threw Yukina out here in the first place.”

“You've seen what she's capable of. What else will you—”

“I'd rather not gaze at you if that's what you're implying.”

She got quiet. A ‘nothing’ shall remain what it was. Nobody can overturn the fibers of fate. Exceptions like dear Yukina may twist and turn the strings but that's about all she could do.

“Aren't you supposed to be glad to have done something?” I provoked her. “After all, it was your doing that made this mess.”

She scoffed at the truth. “Belittling me? Guilt-tripping me? Oh please. You couldn't even tip over a snow globe even if you tried.”

I could feel her aura slowly engulf mine. Hm, as expected of the main house's reject. Their bottom-tier rag could still do this much.

I finally turned around and met her gaze. An innocent smile was plastered on her face, as if to betray the eagerness to claw in on her prey. She’s welcome to try, but I'm pretty sure it's not me who'd be devoured in the end.

I unfolded my fan and scrutinized her behind it. I just can't show her how amused I am on her pathetic attempt at intimidation.

“She inherited her mother's will, judging by how defensive you are.”

“Defensive? What am I left to defend? You know, it's impossible to take something from nothing. Keep staring but you'd never get anything worthwhile.”

I chuckled. “You wouldn't understand. You aren't chosen,” I took to the nearby sofa.

This one was said to be an aristocrat's furniture during the war. The man allegedly sat here as he watched people he abducted get tortured for information. My wares had many stories in them. Ah, pardon me, this was hers now.

“But,” I immediately rose mere seconds after. “I suppose you are correct. Merely observing is not entertaining.”

“…”

“That's the purpose of today's visit. I wanted to check the results, and from the looks of it, the pieces are ready for the next phase of my experiment.”

She just stood there, frozen, like an animatronic that ran out of energy. As expected, she's already too shaken to come up with a retort. Whether she liked it or not, she’s also needed. After all, worms were necessary in an ecosystem therefore, I too, would make use of her.

Just as how Yukina did in order for her death to come.

With this, the stage had been set. I couldn't help but curve my lips into a slight smile. Oh, the anticipation, the excitement!

“A bit of advice, if I may add,” I stopped at the door. “You might want to get that keychain back. Yukina specifically gave it to you for your sake.”

***

Senna got out from the main house as soon as she saw the mysterious man leave the shop. She had never seen her aunt this disturbed.

“Miss Kiyoko,” she tried calling her. As soon as she did though, the lady calmly walked to her and hugged her tightly.

As Senna had thought, Kiyoko was indeed shaking. If that man was from the bloodline, then on what authority could he possess to just waltz over here and intimidate her aunt just like that?

Her gaze shifted towards the cabinet the man was at earlier. There's a small snow globe atop there.

It's snowing.

***

Akito rubbed his hands together and blew a fog of breath over it. He might be using Senna's muffler but leaving hurriedly without gloves on in winter? He knew he's this close to idiocy.

His task for today was to deliver jewelry—a ring precisely, to a man who specifically consulted with the shop. Kiyoko insisted that antique rings might look great, but something from an ordinary jewelry store would be a better choice. Despite her refusal, the deal came through. It’s not like she had guts to refuse after hearing the offer.

A businesswoman to the end, Akito sighed.

It's been on his mind too. The need to give something to make it official with Senna kept him occupied. Was his guardian keychain enough? Perhaps, but, if possible, he also dreamed of getting an expensive ring.

‘I mean, sure, I've never directly asked her if she wanted to go out with me, but we've been long past that stage,’ he thought. The cat—Manjuu surely came in handy at this kind of moment.

KRRRRRIIINNG—

His smartphone played a stock ringtone as he never bothered customizing it. He assumed it's Senna getting worried as he never let her go out in the cold except during the times when she needed to.

“Hello? Sorry ab—”

“Hey.”

“—!!”

Akito's blood turned colder than the current temperature. This wasn't Senna's voice. He couldn't mistake this voice for anyone else.

“…You rang me first,” the person at the other side of the line said. “It's been a while, huh.”

He could only open and close his mouth, his lips trembling and his throat extremely parched. Cold sweat trickled down his back. It felt like he’s talking to Kiyoko but with pure malice laced within her words instead.

“Guess that means I've won,” the female voice added. “I told you, Akito, you'd never leave once you got a taste of it.”

“…”

CLICK! She hung up.

As if time began moving again, Akito checked his call history in a frenzy. Every contact was listed there as he needed to add them because of job that needed more than one meeting. There's also a bunch of unlisted ones that he needed to figure out.

He cursed himself as he left it unorganized for too long. He should've begun sorting numbers out, deleting and naming contacts. There's only like ‘Kiyoko’, ‘Shop’, ‘Hyuuga’ and, ‘Fuyumi’ listed with names, the rest were from his past.

The search at the long list finally turned up the answer. By then, he's already sweating profusely as if the cold wasn't even there.

When did he dial that number?

“It's… that day…” he muttered.

The day when Hyuuga gave those sweets. That fake call that he didn't bother checking.

Akito had goosebumps underneath his clothes. It's still early and the street he took received decent foot traffic yet he felt alone, lost even.

Yes, he's hovering over the gentle light he had found for now, given that he lived his life in complete darkness prior to this, but that voice… that girl…

It might just be true that the light was often more terrifying than the darkness, for it's the only time one could come face to face with the shadow lurking from behind.

***

One book was closed, another was opened. A new day had begun and soon night would fall.

Will Yukina's brilliance prevail? Let's rock the cradle a little bit, shall we?