Sweet or Bitter?
Run....!
Sfx: Run!
She was running, her feets never stopping by any time sooner or later,
"I... I need to save him!" She said.
Aimi, indeed, knew where Ryou was.
And so, she runs
"...haaah...haah"
Sfx: pant
"I... I need to.."
Trip!
As she runs, she trips to a stone, though her pace still steady and she still races to chase Ryou and save him.
Until,
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She meets them.
"I've heard a lot about you..." She said.
"What...?" Aimi was surprised.
Who is this?
"I've come to repay you Aimi" she said, as she cracked her knuckles,
"For w-what...?" Aimi panicked, her voice unsteady,
As that policewoman drew out her gun, pointing at Aimi she said
"Let's end it here."
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BANG!
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Chapter 74: Sweet or Bitter?
I will miss you... Aimi.
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At the Foothills
"So, how did you reach here?" Seiko smiled.
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"He isn't here?!" Ryou was surprised,
"Whom are you trying to find?" Seiko was confused, although she only pretended to be.
"Ah, Daiki- my employee- WAIT-" Ryou shouted!
"Just who exactly... Would you be?" Ryou asked.
To which, Seiko giggled
"Fufufu-..."
"Don't play dumb~" She said
"Huh?"
"You know exactly for what you came here, and yet you pretend you don't know me..?" Seiko blushed a little, though her voice was still monotonous.
"I really have no idea what I'm doing. I need to get back fast before she catches up though- would you be Seiko?" Ryou revealed his true intentions.
"Indeed. I am whom you're looking for, now, you're not really looking for Daiki, are you?" Seiko said
"I was."
"Why? Why would you come here then?" Seiko asked.
"I was told that Daiki got kidnapped... By somebody" Ryou said
BADUMP!
So it worked... Seiko thought to herself.
"Ah, so, who told you about this?" Seiko asked with a little bit of hesitation in her voice.
"Sayuri, a cousin of- wait, no, she told me Daiki is kidnapped.."
So he's refusing to let me know about Sayuri being a cousin...?
This led Seiko to realise,
Ryou doesn't want Seiko to know who Sayuri is.
But why?
Why would he do that?
This further builds proof for Seiko to realise, that Ryou is aware of Seiko's past.
And so, Seiko says
"So different to each other...huh?"
"What?" Ryou asks.
"Oh, nothing. Sit down, let's have a chat!" Seiko invites Ryou with her warm smile.
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Foot Hills...
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BANG! BANG!
"You're quick..."
BANG!
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Sprint!
Upon reciving the third shot Aimi nearly missed it by a few centimetres and was able to narrow down her chances of getting shit,
"Maybe you're just bad at shooting...fufu~" she said, her feet still sore but adrenaline caused her body to move quickly.
Aimi moved in zig zag positions, ready to fight: DRAW!
"Huh...?"
She drew out her knife, and went for
A DIRECT STAB!
"HAAAAA-"
Stab!
"Eh-"
Splatter!
...
"Well, it turns out you're not fat at all huh?" Aimi commented,
"Indeed." Throw!
The policeomwan threw out the plastic bags from her chest.
They stood at a distance, Aimi noticed
A police uniform. She must be either on a patrol, or is it... She thought.
As she couldn't contain it, she had to ask
"Before I kill you again..."
"Didn't you promise your lover you'd not kill anybody again?" The police woman commented
"Tsk!-" Aimi realised who could it be,
So she knows Ryou too?!
"What is your name...?" She asked.
"Yoshiko, why?" The policewoman said with a smirk,
To this, Aimi smudged off her lips to clean the fake blood off her mouth, which came from stabbing Yoshiko's Chest bags, she said with a trembling and nervous tone-
"So you're Seiko's sister ...huh?"
"Oh, yeah...why not?" Yoshiko commented.
"Oh my~..." Aimi regained her composure,
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"What will you do now...?" Yoshiko asked,
"Your knife... Is err, 'unuseable', I guess now..." She mocked Aimi.
"I-"
Not letting Aimi speak, Yoshiko pointed her gun towards Aimi
"Guess this is the end now." She said with a smile, knowing it's going to be finally be ended at all: with just one shot.
To which, Aimi said
"I have another knife-"
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FootHills House...
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"So, what's your childhood, how was it like to be the son of the one of the richest man of Japan?" Seiko asks, with a gentle voice.
Ryou, uninterested, says
"Nothing much... I guess. I just couldn't really relate with other people honestly... Especially with the maids..."
"A maid complex...mhm?" Seiko laughs.
"Your way of speaking- it's quite similar to Aimi's... How do you know her?" Ryou asked.
"You're quite straight to the point isn't it? I like it~" Seiko said, covering her mouth as she put out a formal laugh.
Weird... Ryou thought.
"Yes, this is exactly why I came here. And what I want is the answers, so do not mislead me again, unlike her." Ryou said with persuasive voice.
"Unlike 'her'...? You mean Aimi?" Seiko asked, her voice curious.
"Yeah, I feel like I haven't really though anything of my own till now. It's lways her ideals being pushed onto me. She cannot just decide what will be routine for my day and night- right? Similarly she can't just decide everything for me!" Ryou ranted,
"Wow, quite the frustration we have here." Seiko commented.
That's very dumb, leaking everything to somebody whom you must be claiming to be your 'enemy', quite interesting too... Seiko thought.
"Well, let me clear.your doubts then." Seiko said.
"Pleasure..."
"So, how about you tell me about that day then... The day of shooting, you know? Let me fill in the gaps of your memory..." Seiko said.
"Ofcourse then, let me tell you..." Ryou said, without hesitation.
His voice seemed desperate, as if he was ready to sacrifice everything that was needed to get the answers...
And so, he began his story...
"Everything..."
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[Flashback]
[Ryou's Perspective]
Am I back in that dream again?
"Son, you must get ready for the dance competition today..."
Oh, right, I'm here.
"But father, I'm not even participating in it!"
"Hoho~ you did help this one girl— Aimi, isn't it?"
"Yeah...but, I- I'm not in it... So why should I go?"
"Nothing is better than seeing flowers you planted blooming and shining..." The Old Master- oh-, my father, said with a sigh in his voice.
It was that day, exactly six years ago,
Aimi was twelve. I was about to be fourteen,
Apparently we had a rival in the dance competition, Seiko- was it? She had a companion whom we knew as her slave getting constantly bullied by her.
"Lick the spit I spat on the ground!" She once commanded Ray, the slave of hers. Who got constantly bullied by her.
Wait- where was I?
Oh yeah... This is Aimi's story isn't it?
Wait. Is it really hers?
Why am I remembering her competition, why do I remember her brother...
Why do I remember everything related to Aimi...
What is my existence here?
Oh- thats right. I didn't go to school that day.
Or did I?
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"Yaay....I'm finally here!"
"Woah, Ryou- you're here?! Didn't your father stop you?"
"Yeah but I came sneaking out!"
It was the day of the middle school dance competition.
A gloomy looking lady- quite similar to Aimi, in terms of Speaking- walking, everything... everything was quite similar.
And yet- she is...
Punch! Slap!
"You brat! Don't you know how to prepare this there?!"
Why is she scolding down Seiko...?
Wait. Why did she even help Seiko with the competition... Shouldn't it be Aimi?
"Hey, Aunty-"
"After today, I'll no longer have to stack anything...!"
Wait, Stack?
What does that mean?
Whom was she talking to?
Oh right, she said to this Seiko...
But what is stack?
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Bang! Shoot!
Sfx: scream
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"
The shooting occured,
I saw everyone getting killed...
"W-wait...what's going on?!" I was confused.
At such a young age, how could I tell that everyone around would drop dead within a second of getting shot?
Yet,
"Aaahhahahah! Finally...! I'm free now, I'm free from this...cu-" this lady... Was happy?
Apart from everybody dying... That same lady who bullied Seiko, why was she so happy of getting Shot?
Meanwhile I saw an old man sitting near Seiko, he was cheering Aimi a little while before...
"Kiyo...! Kiyo...!" Who is this woman? Whom is he shouting for?
"Kyaaaaah! Don't touch me...!"
Wait- a girl is getting picked up by few men?
"I'm sure you'll sell for real good~" they are selling her?!
No- this isn't right. I must help her right? That's what dad taught me,
I must love the flowers I planted, so that I can enjoy them blooming and growing!
"B-but how do I...h-how do I help them?!"
"You want to help them?"
"KYAAA!" WHO IS THIS GIRL?!
"I am sure by now her mother is dead. She's cursed now I guess ..." Huh? Cursed?
"Now then... Do you really wish to help her?"
YES! I MUST HELP HER!
"Y-yes... I do!"
And so, she stepped forward as she said
"Take this."
Wait.
Is that a knife?
But why a knife?
What am I supposed to do with this?
"If you really wish to save Aimi, go kill her."
W-what?!
"No way! Isn't she getting harrassed by the shooters?! Shouldn't I kill the men first?"
"You'll just make her mother's plan succeed if you let her live right now..."
What?
And so...
She left.
The girl next to me, was Seiko.
She gave me the knife and asked me to... Kill Aimi?
I went to the men. And then-
"I-i.. can't bring myself to kill anyone I guess... I really am a coward..."
I handed over the knife to Aimi.
Stab! Splat!
"T-thank...thank you..." She cried
She said something about this day repeating the eighth time. I couldn't really understand what she meant.
Anyways... I went back to Seiko,
Slap!
"W-what?! I did help Aimi...right?"
"Ryou... You just turned her life into a complete hell, by saving her."
W-what?
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And so, I was confused. But I realised,
Was I the cause of all sufferings of Aimi?
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FootHills House
"Yeah, that was it." Ryou said, sighing down.
"White the cinema I got here~" Seiko complimented.
It's vague... Seiko thought to herself.
"So, I realised you gave me the knife. But why? And why did you want me to kill Aimi?" Ryou asked, his voice desperate for answers.
To which, Seiko had no choice but to answer.
"The knife was given to you for a purpose." Seiko said
"What?"
"You had a choice. Either to kill Aimi that day and end all her sufferings, or to let her live and let everybody around her suffer." Seiko explained
"B-but... How?" Ryou asked, he was confused!
"It was because of her mother. Let me tell you something." She interrupted Ryou.
"..." Ryou waited,
"My family was murdered by a woman who claimed to 'stack' something every time she kills a person." Seiko said.
"Infact, the woman you claim to have been bullying me, is the same person." She countinued,
"Wait...what?!" Ryou was shocked,
Quite a big revelation it was!
"But then... That woman who got killed, and Aimi's Father looked for the same woman, that would mean..." Ryou connected,
"That's right. That woman, who murdered my family, bullied me, was none other than..."
Seiko said as she countinued without hesitation and a sip of breath she had held in her heart she said it with a cold voice,
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"Was Aimi's Mother. Kiyo Inoue."
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"Wait, so-" Ryou was about to say something
"Which would mean Aimi inherited it." Seiko said, ignoring whatever Ryou said.
"..." He stayed silent, letting Seiko talk.
"Because of you, Aimi must have killed around two hundred and thirty people by now..." Seiko revealed,
Panick!
"Eh-ehhh?!" Ryou trembled,
"How did she..."
"Yes, I calculated each time she killed somebody. I was stalking her- because I couldn't find her. Ryou Aikawa, the truth is-" Seiko said in a fast paced voice,
"I truly despise you."
It's useless to ask why she hates me right now Ryou thought.
Ryou had no idea about the motivation behind Aimi's killings,
In terms of communication, where did Seiko lack,
Why couldn't Ryou know the truth about the curse?
Until now.
"But why did Aimi kill so many people...?" He asked,
To which Seiko...
"Aimi is a killer and that's why-" it seems Seiko was speaking to herself at this point,
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Seiko had done it before too, at when she stared weirdly at Aiko and then answered. It was her mental state to sometimes weirdly state at people or keep speaking things to herself, without listening to others.
Perhaps she was at it again.
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"I will ask you for sometime, Ryou..." Seiko said, her voice in agony and anger,
"What is it?" Ryou, who was confused as t this point, had no idea what to say
Even so, he managed to make some courage in his heart even after listening to the fact that he was responsible for Aimi's killing spree.
And so, he prepared himself for the question,
Seiko asked
"Why do you love Aimi?" She asked.
"I don't know" Ryou was honest.
He didn't think much of his answer
"That's an honest reply, if so- why haven't you reported her to police yet?" Seiko asked,
"Because I love her... I just can't let her go, I guess." Ryou said
"And you're willing to be with a murderer?" She asked again,
"If that's what t takes to be with her, so be it." Ryou said.
"She was responsible for do many deaths..."
"None of those deaths have an effect on me." Ryou said,
Seiko's composure was getting broken by each second,
"Do you realise... How posessive that woman is?" She said
"... Yes. Ryou was caught off guard this time.
"If you even did have a family, she would kill your child just so she could have all of your attention, are you willing to be with somebody like that?" Seiko asked,
"Are you kidding with me?! Aimi would never do that!" Ryou's voice seemed offended,
"OH GOD! JUST WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO BE AWAY FROM HER...!" Seiko screamed,
Her patience, was broken.
The pressure in her heart grew, as she grabbed her chest to maintain her heart pressure, she looked at Ryou with anger.
"W...what?" Ryou was... surprised.
To see somebody so much wantings of Aimi,
Was this normal?
Just who was this woman?
Thoughts blurred Ryou's mind. Nevertheless, he maintained his position, as he decided to not speak of anything.
"You wouldn't be with a killer right?!" Seiko said,
And without hearing Ryou's answer, she said
"Thas right. Aimi is a killer but I am ready to accept her the way she is! I would let her even kill me!"
"What?!"
"And so, HAND HER OVER TO ME! I love
Aimi more than you ever could do...!" Seiko confessed her feelings,
As she said
"So please... Stay away from Aimi... And give me what she wishes to give you... Her love..."
Tears sprang out of Seiko's eyes,
While she all that Ryou could do was to see her.
"I get it..." He said, as he stood up.
WHAM!
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At the foothills
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"Tsk, you're quite strong..." Yoshiko said, blood spluttering out from her mouth
"And agile too..." She added.
"Now, where is Ryou?" Aimi asked.
She has a good knowledge of basic martial arts, and a cold killing instinct. Just how? Yoshiko thought.
Yoshiko sprang her feet towards Aimi: STAB!
She rushed at Aimi with full force,
"HAAA-"
Aimi avoided the knife stabbing her, she stepped in her left direction, slowly crouching for a kick but then-
"Now's the time." Yoshiko said, SHE POINTED A GUN!
Shoot! Bang!
"Bad Aim~"
Spin! Kick!
Yoshiko's gun was mislead in directions, as Aimi grabbed her hand and twist! She twisted it in half!
She spun clockwise as she raised her legs for another kick at Yoshiko's chin!
"Not yet-"
Yoshiko stepped back, raising her hands for defense, but then-
Stab!
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"You couldn't guess I had a third knife, did you?"
"Just how many do you carry?"
Aimi used this chance to bsit Yoshiko for a kick, as she drew out another blunt life from her clothings and pointed it at her stomach,
Seizing a clear opportunity to strike, Aimi used full force to stab Yoshiko.
"Oh believe me, I have a fourth one too." Aimi said, blood splattering over her face.
I could hit any vital organs... She won't die, shit. Aimi regretted.
Yoshiko smiled, "You're not done yet?"
Aimi looked upwards, as she read Yoshiko's lips that said
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"Aiko, it's time."
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FootHills House
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"I'm leaving now..." Seiko said as she stood up,
"..." Meanwhile Ryou fell to his knees.
As Seiko walked a bit further,
Sfx: dial
She drew out her phone and dialed up a number on the phone, hitning at a call she said
"Seiko?"
"It's me."
"What is it?"
"Cancel everything. It's done, retreat."
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Foothills
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"Shit-" Aimi didn't realise,
There were Lisa and Aiko too?
She thought she had already dealt with them,
"Forgive me, I just came here for answers!" Aiko said, as he quickly jumped out from the hides and-
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"Retreat."
"What...?" Aimi was confused?
Lisa, with a phone at her side, told Aiko and Yoshiko.
"We will get you treated right now. Seiko told us to leave." Lisa said.
"What...?" Aiko was still confused.
Cough...cough!
Yoshiko coughed blood,
"Her condition is bad. We need to save her right now. Let's go!" Lisa emphasised, and following Seiko's orders, all of them began walking out of the fight zone.
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"Close..." Aimi sighed.
"But wait-" Aimi noticed something that she heard,
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"Seiko?"
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Aimi, after hearing that she was in the same area as of Aimi, was surprised.
"Somebody I haven't heard from for six years..." Aimi said to herself,
Slap!
"Now's not the time! I have to save him!" Aimi blushed at herself, tears springing out she slapped herself.
Knowing that Ryou could be probably free now, she ran for her life to save him!
"Haaah...haaah... After all this time, he's finally mine again!" Aimi shed tears of joy,
Her feet sore, her hand injured and her hair messy,
Perhaps Aimi had become a mad maiden at love, nevertheless she still rushed to the Foothills house,
Foothills House...
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Sfx: door open
*Creaaaakkkk
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"Ryou...!!!" Aimi, even though she was tired. Her her voice showed much more excitement, contrasting her appearance.
She walked upto Ryou, as she found him kneeling down, his face hidden.
She said,
"Oh my... Are you okay?" She laid her hands into his shoulder.
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But suddenly,
Twist- SLAP!
"D-dont... Don't touch me..." Ryou said,
Shock!
"...what?" Aimi was shocked.
Ryou resisted her touches, as he took a step back. Yet kneeling, he turned his head around and met Aimi's eyes,
As Ryou said,
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"Aimi..."
"I HATE YOU"