Road to Ruisea

❆ ❆ LXXIV. KUMARI ❆ ❆

Kumari's experiencing a strong sense of deja vu.

It's almost like she's seen a black-haired, black-eyed boy, spitting up what looks like oil, while a book lies on the ground, its pages burning next to him.

Except she knows for a fact that she has. Last time, it was Jae — purging out what was left of Tadao's possession of him.

Now it's Sho... The young man who's been plaguing her and her friends ever since she left home.

He looks so vulnerable — eyes wide, arms around his stomach... Spitting and coughing and looking like he can't breathe, like he'll die any second. The killer, who's taken so many lives, looks like he's losing his own...

"Sho!" Hevva cries, her hands coming to rest on Sho's shoulders, and he doesn't push her away, doesn't do anything, just falls to his knees and continues coughing up black sludge onto the ground, turning the white snow — the parts of it that aren't stained red — black as coal.

He coughs and he spits and he vomits, and soon there's only a last few onyx droplets escaping his lips, as he slumps on the ground, lying down and taking deep, shuddering breaths.

The first thing Kumari notices is that his eyes — tired eyes, lined with deep dark bags that weren't there before — are now brown, like hers. Not black, like they were.

The second thing she notices, after staring at Sho for a while, is that the small fire is gone, and so is the pile of goo. In place of both, where her favorite book once was, is a book that's completely black, instead. And where it was once open with flames, now it's sealed itself shut.

Alexei blinks at the sight before him, then gingerly picks it up, handing it to Chiro. Chiro takes it, just as gingerly, holding it closely, protectively.

"Sho?" Hevva asks, shaking the boy, ignoring the others around her. "Sho, Sho, are you okay?"

"Mmmh," rumbles Sho's deep voice, his eyes coming to rest on the girl who's holding him. "Who... Who're you?"

"Oh," she whispers softly, tears springing to her eyes. "You don't know who I am?"

"Mmm..." Lifting his hand, he weakly rubs at his eyes. "No, I do... You're that girl. That nice girl who's been helping me do bad things..."

Not knowing what to say — but with the ghost of a sad smile on her face — she nods.

Kumari stands up, walking towards them. Hevva, frightened, holds Sho tighter.

"I'm sorry," she says, quickly, as Kumari looks at them curiously. "I'm so sorry—"

"It's okay," Kumari replies, not quite believing what she's saying, but still says it. "It's okay. I'll leave you alone now. I have to get home."

Hevva makes a soft noise of agreement, looking back at the boy in her arms. "I think I have to do the same."

Kumari turns away from her to see that the boys are all walking towards her. Before saying anything, she takes the book from Chiro, and turns back around.

"Here you go," she says, as she hands it to Hevva.

The girl raises a blonde eyebrow in confusion, but takes the book anyways. "Are you sure about this...? Don't you have a safer place to take it?"

"I think it's safe with you, too," Kumari insists. "I have a feeling you won't open it." She risks a glance at Sho's face, which looks so much softer than it had looked all this time. "I have a feeling he won't want to open it, either."

She turns away once more, seeing the boys are all right behind her. She expects one of them to disagree, to take the book back from Hevva — why had Kumari given it to her, in the first place? She wasn't sure. She didn't think she had a good reason.