The Curse

"we haven't recieved any further others yet...?" Alice wondered.

"This is true, is our cash cow lost?" Minoru said with regret.

"Huh! Is that how you mention Michael?!" Takashi said as he raised his voice.

"Shhh! We still haven't recieved our pay, shouldn't we call him more of a cashless carcass?" Aoi added.

The four had gathered infront of the factory.

"This woman named Mai, she has told us to wait by..." Takashi said.

Apparently, Mai had ordered them to do so.

"She hasn't came yet! What the hell!" Minoru said with a greedy voice.

"Let's not be much greedy shall we?~ Our overseas trip await us! Fufu~" Alice said excitedly after thinking all the money she would recieve after doing something they have been ordered.

Sfx: crowd noises

"Hey! Can we enter the circuit board room now?" A group of workers had started shouting.

"Huh? Who are these?" Aoi wondered.

"Idiot! Don't you know it's Michael's factory?!" Minoru shouted.

"We don't care! It has always been of Ryou's! He never treated us like this!" The workers protested behind the gates.

"What an idiot you are! Ryou barely had the ownership over you peseants for barely a week and you became his loyal dogs?!" Takashi shouted.

"Sigh... They are always been in the ass!" Takashi sighed.

Sfx: crowd noises

Ignoring the crowd noises, Minoru asked

"Say, what were you guys paid for?" He indicated what Michael had aske them to do.

"Ah, that? Apparently he found out that we were the same batch of kids who were in the orphanage same as Aimi, so, he asked us to invite Aimi to talk with us?" Takashi explained.

"Eh- why would he ask something so useless?!" Minoru sighed.

"I know right!" Aoi added

"He did promise alot of money though..." She added in a low voice.

"Speaking of this 'Aimi', how was she? Any remarks?" Minoru asked.

"Her? A bitch! Ofcourse! A bitchy behaviour I'd say. She was a bitch back in the oprhanage, and a bitch still now! I couldn't stand talking to her! Only reason I was able to resonate is because of he drug addict brother!" Takashi vented out his feelings.

Hmm, I noticed how he didn't tell us why he's here. Aoi thought to herself.

"Hm?" Minoru looked at Aoi for another answer to countinue what Takashi had said.

"Ah- she brought a man with her! He was quite hot, I'm not lying~" Aoi added.

"You're probably nowhere as attractive as that guy though..." Takashi laughed.

"Huh? Who was he?" Alice was confused.

"Ah? Speaking of his name, wasn't it, Ryou?" Takashi said.

Sfx: glare

"...huh?" Minoru's eyes grew wider as he heard the name,

RYOU.

"Speaking of whic-"

Sfx: crowd noises

CROWD CHEER!

"HUH? WHAT IS THIS?" Minoru suddenly turned back, and saw-

"A-all of them, the c-co workers, they...THEY ARE GOING IN?" Alice said worriedly.

"Hey! Who let you in?!" Takashi tried regaining control.

"Eh, leave it, it's none of our concerns anyways, is it?" Minoru gained back his composure as he said.

"But still, who let them in? Somebody's doing this..." Takashi said with a growing concern.

Seriously, who was behind this?

Chapter 48: The curse

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Outside the Main Room

"What do you think Mai, Harold and that Michael guy will do together? Huh?" Aiko was confused.

"Don't know, feel pity Aimi to be honest." Lee said in a regretful voice.

"You probably just got fatherly Instincts kicking in!" The taxi driver opened his mouth.

"Huh?! Feeling pity for a killer is ftaherky Instincts? What the hell?!" Aiko was concerned with the driver had just said.

"See, trust me when I say this, Lee, you feel bad for Aimi isn't it?" The driver said.

"Let it out. Come on!" The taxi driver econuraged Lee.

"Well.. to not say much about the topic, but you could imagine a helpless innocent girl who is tied to her arms and legs is getting beaten around mercilessly just because she couldn't answer any question by one word two, seems not so fair to me." Lee ended what he had to say.

"Y-you..." Aiko could not believe what he has just heard.

"It's hard to digest, but trust me, men who have lost their children in the past tenf to have a great care for anybody that resembles their kid." Taxi driver said.

"To hell there's no way Aimi represents any son of Lee! If he has any, that is." Aiko said violently.

"Ah well, I did have a daughter but that was about eight years ago now..." Lee started the conversation.

"Huh? Tell us about it." Aiko was curious

"As the taxi driver told you, I had a daughter back in eight years... unfortunately, her life was taken away by the school sbooters." Lee said.

"Huh? I don't get it?" Aiko was still confused.

"To be fair, I don't know if she is alive or not. All I know is, that poor girl was fooled into believing her father is dead, because that day..."

[Flashback]

"WE ARE ROOTING FOR YOU!!" I shouted.

"Hey, honey, will our daughter win this?" My wife asked in concern.

Who does she think our daughter is?

Does she believe our daughter is inferior to any other girl in any other way!

"OFCOURSE SHE WILL! She will hypnotize everyone with her elegant dance moves! Isn't that right?!" I cheer up.

"Geez, it's just a middle school competition!" My wife laughs.

"Hahahahah! Yeah! Ofcourse! But my daughter? She's on another level!" I still be serious!

And suddenly,

Sfx: shoot

"AAAAAAAAAAA"

WHAT?

Sfx: gunshots

Numerous gun shots started to come

"GET DOWN! DAUGHTER, GET DOWN!" I scream!

"Hya?!" She gets down, but infront of her, she witnesses

Sfx: gunshot

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"I-...."

"WHAT DID MY WIFE HAVE TO DO THIS WITH THIS?!" I SCREAM, AS THESE BASTARDS KEEO SHOOTING HER!

"Eh, shoot him too!" The man indicates

"Wait, no!" I twitch and start running

Sfx: run

"Haah..haa.. what do I do ?! My wife is dead. My children are somewhere I dont know, WHAT TO DO?!"

That day, my poor daughter probably witnessed her mother getting killed. But in the heat of the moment, she assumed her father, me, has also died...

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"And that's how... My daughter was taken away from me. I have no idea what she is doing right now, or if she is even alive to be fair..." Lee wipes off his tears as he says so.

"Huff...huff... YOU DIDNT TELL ME BEFORE!" Aiko reaches for a hug as he cried.

Hug...

"I'm sorry for you Lee, man, I didn't know you went through such extents!"

"You're just overreacting Aiko!" Lee was embarassed, yet he did know infact that these stories of his would be easily be able to make anyone else out of him be able to cry.

"It seems my plan has been successful this time around." The taxi driver guy said calmly.

Sfx: crowd noises

SCREAM! CHAOS!

"Huh what is that noise?" Aiko was confused.

"Hmm, let's check it out." Lee took the initative.

And so,

"Ah, so that's what it is." Lee went outside the factory towards the side gate.

"Let us be free! We need to work here!" One factory worker shouts.

"More work equals to more daily wage!" The words had been imprinted into their minds.

"Who told you all this?!" Lee was surprised.

"We don't care! Let us in!" The factory worker shouted once more.

"Ah, whom is it that you are looking for. Truly, because today is supposed to be a leave day forall the factory workers. And most importantly, isn't it an abandoned factory?" Lee tried to make up many reasons that he could.

"That doesn't matter! We gotta earn money the way we have been earning for years! Now let us work and earn our daily wage!" The factory workers shouted.

Lee took a step back, he thought for a second, who could they be working for?

It's a factory of Michael's but Michael has Ryou's company and-

"Ah! Got it!" Aiko clapped his hands together to gather the attention for the workers as she said.

"You want to serve for Ryou isn't it? Well the truth is, we are rescuing him, from all the allegations he has been facing!" Aiko makes a short speech.

"Huh? So does that mean..." The factory workers try to guess what they just had meant

"Yes, we are opening the gates!" Aiko rushes to open the door.

Lee and Aiko along with the taxi driver step aside, as the crowd cheers and rushed into the factory!

Their work was into the circuit board room, so the store house and main room were still prett isolated. Which was still an advantage for the three.

Moreover,

"Isn't this what Harold had instructed us to do?" Aiko guessed.

"Yes, absolutely, agreeing with you, by making more crowds be present, there's no way Aimi can commit a murder now. So we are safe by all means, or that is what I have assumed while I executed this plan." Lee spike nervously, as he himself wasn't sure if Harold would have approved such thing or if he would haven't.

"Huh! Who did this?" A voice came from above.

"Hey, who spoke just now?"

Lee spoke with great curiousity, as he knew, he wasnt the only one Here for Aimi, perhaps another group had also come to the point of realising this.

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At the main room

BANG!

"I'm telling you, THERE IS NO CURSE!" Aimi begged for her life, as the bat kept swinging her,

And hitting her in the most merciless ways possible.

"Agh...!" The bat broke, as Aimi cracked her knuckles to get ready

To punch the hell out of Aimi

"Haah...nh...sob..!" Aimi looked down as blood kept vomitting from her mouth due to the critical hits she had been receiving.

"Now now, let's not get impafiend shall we?" Harold said in a controlled manner.

He crossed his legs as he took out a ciggerate and said .

"When one smokes, what does one do with the butt if the cigarette?" Harold asked Aimi.

"I-...I don't know!" Aimi said in a weak voice, she prepared herself for a second hit as she realised what she had just said right now would absolutely be her

Sfx: bat s w i n g

Wham! Punch!

"HYAAA!" Aimi cried in pain as Mai used the last bits of the bat remaining in the hands of Mai, after which she started throwing punches onto Aimi.

Punch!

"Hm, okay, Mai, let's give a little moment of rest to her. Till then, decide if you wish to answer or not..." Harold sighed.

"I... Won't answer you..." Aimi said in a low murdering voice, as she wanted to look undefeated, but still here she was, completely hopless and in the mercy of of Harold.

"Tsk." Harold smiled.

Wham! Punch! Pow!

Mai started beating Aimi again,

"Wh-wat WHAT DID I DO! IM SORRY!" Aimi started begging for her life once again a s she got beated by Mai.

"I just confirmed that there is an answer to the question I asked previously, confirming my suspicions that there is a curse onto you, Aimi " Harold said as he smiled and fot bid focus on the seat back again.

"So then, Aimi Inoue. Let define the cases of your Curses, shall we?" Harold invitingly said to Aimi.

Aimi couldn't decide

Sfx: cry

"Hfff..hfff... Okay .." is all Aimi could say, since she was abused to the point of breaking

And any wouldn't she?

Hunter never liked to become the hunted, has it ever?

"So, as I was saying... Your curse, why did you kill Rosa exactly? Refering to your curse that is, ofcourse." Harold said in a curious tond.

[Aimi's Perspective]

Wait. No.

I CAN'T TELL THE CURSE TO HIM!

if he knows the cursed HE WILL WIN!

how will Ryou like me then? How can I meet ever to Ryou if he knows I've comitted so many murders behind his back; everybody would think I'm not normal-

This isn't good this isn't good this isn't good this isn't good This isn't good this isn't good this isn't good this isn't goodThis isn't good this isn't good this isn't good this isn't good

THIS ISN'T GOOOOOOD!!! AAAAAAA-!

what do I do? What do I do?

No no no, if I lie, he will best me once again?!

I can endure it right?

As long as Ryou's-

"Let's rephrase the question a little, if you don't answer me, I'll probably, 'hurt' Ryou~" Harold said in a flam yet controlling tone

Oh shit.

What do I do now? He has me in his clutch!

If I don't do to what he says, it'll all be over?!

Is it all over?

Sfx: tear build

Hff...sob...

As tears build onto my eyes, my entire life reflects onto my eyes as I began to regret ever single kill I've committed,

If only I had just repeated a single day forever and ended myself right there only, right?

"F-fine! I'll tell!"I decide I must do as he says, for that is the safe path for me.

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And so, Aimi began answering to each thing Harold said.

"I killed Rosa in order to pass a day, though that day I had already comitted a kill.." Aimi said in a sad tone.

"Huh? Why is that so?"

"It is because of... I do not know, i- it it just feels like Ryou didn't not belong with other maids, and so, I killed whoever wished to interact with him the other way around." Aimi said in a determined tone.

"Ah, I see. But what is up with you killing to 'pass a day' ? Is that your curse?" Harold added.

"Could you tell me about it first?" Aimi hinted.

Wham! PUNCH!

"We won't allow you to use your mouth to trick us into any words or any cunning game of yours again, you cold blooded killer." Mai said as she was still pissed off about what had Aimi done to Mai a little way earlier.

"Oh my, lets not get hasty, I'll tell her." Harold sisd with a playful tone.

"So basically, I got to know this from Edrick's files. Though I had already a little reason to suspect this, but Edrick once told us we need to think 'beyond' logic, and that is how we had discovered, you have a curse onto you, that you need to kill one person to pass each day of yours..." Harold said.

"But that is... NOT THE FULL REASON!" Harold said as he clenched his first.

"Nnh!" Aimi was caught off-guard with this.

She really had not expected Harold to figure this out, but now that he has done

It's time to tell them to full truth sn't it? Is what Aimi had thought.

This time, she truly had no tricks. All she had, was a little hope, that she would be saved, by somebody.

"Well, that's true..." Aimi said a in a low voice.

"I KNOW RIGHT?!" Harold raise this voice.

"I mean.. HOW COULD YOU?! Ever since that middle school massacre thing, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLING EVERY SINGLE DAY!" Harold exclaimed.

"Which is something I haven't done..." Aimi said as she was still tied to her chair, blood leaking out from her mouth as she reas beaten badly before this.

"I know! Three sixty five days times number of years you have got that curse would be alot! That number is absurd! Which leaves me with only one conculsion...that is,"

Harold said in a bold tone.

"THERE IS ONE CONDITION THAT ACTIVATES YOUR CURSE." Harold said with a wild expression.

"Hmm, perhaps you are very close to finding that one condition, haven't you?" Aimi said in a low voice.

She didn't dare raise her voice, because she knew that if she did anything that Harold did not like,

'discipline' would be awaiting her.

Sfx: crowd noises

"Huh?" Mai seemed confused.

"It's good that the crowd is in, now if you do any 'tricks', it's obvious you'll be caught red-handed." Harold said as he chuckled.

Good job, Lee. He thought to himself.

"A crowd...huh?" Aimi thought to herself,

Could she use this to her advantage?

She began to think, "hmm..."

Wham! Punch!

"AHHH! WHAT DID I DO?!" Aimi whined as she ate punches from Mai.

"Don't let her think!" Harold warned.

"Ofcourse. A bitch like you can't have the time to think, do you?" Mai grabbed Aimi's hair as she slapped her again

Slap!

"Isn't this what you have always done?" Mai added.

Sob...

"I-...I'm sorry..." Aimi said as she cried.

"Now, back to the same question, what is that one condition, that activates curse?" Harold asked.

Hff...hff

"Haah..." Aimi panted as she tried to regain her breath

She was tired

Of getting beaten countinously, by Mai and her punches.

As she took a sip of breath, she spoke

"I'll let you know... When this curse is activated..." Aimi spoke.

"The reason is..."

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At the storehouse

"Say, which do you decide?" Miko asked Ryou.

It was a fact that Miko was the only who loved Ryou without any conditions, atleast that's what she thought.

For the Police, Harold and Lee, Ryou was a key to catching Aimi. For Michael, Ryou was an enemy, for Aimi, what was he?

"I-..." Ryou spoke

Sfx: breath

Breath

And as he took a short breath,

Deciding what to say,

"..." Miko waited for his answer

To which he said

"...I don't know!" Ryou said as he banged his hands against his knees!

"Oh my... I knew that!" Miko giggled as she said this.

"Huh?" Ryou wondered.

"What an act, isn't it?" Miko said as she took of her glasses.

She unpinned her hair, as she took of the act of Naomi, and embraced to be Miko fully.

"What an indecisive fellow you are, fufu, it's actually what makes it so easy for you to be conquered." She said in a dark tone.

"What?!" Ryou had never expected this, as he began taking his stance,

Sfx: stand

"Who told you to stand, Ryou? Come and sit with me." Miko ordered.

"What the hell!" Ryou couldnt expected this, ever!

"Hmm, from one owner to the other, Aimi, I see this as a good trade!" Miko said with a smug face, as she thought of it as borrowing Ryou back from Aimi to Herself.

"Aimi must have used you alot, sad to say, she assumes your first times were taken by her! Fufu~" Miko laughed around

"Miko... Wh-what are you..." Ryou trembled.

Is this the same person he fell in love with?

"I can smell that pathetic smell of that woman from you..."

"So then, let's, CLEANSE YOU!"