It has been four months since both Shion and Ayumi arrived at the remote village. Their house stood on the outskirts of the village. They managed to make some sort of friendship with the people of the village, including their mayor of sorts, who allowed them to stay.
Shion was in charge of cooking and all the other jobs involved with the kitchen, while Ayumi did the ironing and the cleaning, along with some other chores. At the moment, they were having rice and curry, as well as banana jelly for dessert, all made by Shion
"You're a good cook." Ayumi remarked
"Well, I had to repay you somehow, and you wouldn't let me do the more demanding jobs." Shion said, pouting a little "Besides, I like cooking. I used to cook for mama......my real mama.....she was sick.......then she......she passed away."
Here Shion started sobbing. Unsure, Ayumi put a hand onto her shoulders
"My real mama and papa.....they died......because of me....." Shion said through sobs
She moved over to the window and opened it. The moon shone onto her. But that night, the moon had Makoto's face, taunting her.
Even when she and Ayumi went to bed, she could still hear his voice, taunting her, telling her that she could never escape him. She woke up, sweating. Slowly, she stood up and dressed, careful not to wake Ayumi. She wrote him a note and left it on the table. Then she disappeared into the night.
Morning came and Ayumi was woken by the mayor. He noticed that Shion was gone.
"Where is Shion?"
"There was no one here but you, son." the mayor said "I am sorry, but there is no such person. The breakfast is in the fridge. Call me if you need anything.
With that, the mayor left, closing the door and leaning against the wall outside. He felt bad, about lying to Ayumi like this, but Shion herself begged him not to reveal her whereabouts to Ayumi. Sighing, the mayor started to walk towards his residence.
Shion sat on the rock next to the roadside, tossing a small rock up into the air.
"It's better this way, Ayumi-kun. This way, if Makoto-kun finds you, you won't be in danger."
But it was a lie.
Ayumi was woken up from his nap by a hand that covered his mouth. The owner of the hand shook him roughly. The man in front of him was Makoto Hani.
"I want my apprentice." Makoto hissed darkly "And you'd better tell me where she is or you'll end up like her parents, the losers who failed to see her true talent. They would have made her be a lawyer or something. That's why I manipulated the situation. I knew that if she had no one else, the people next door would have adopted her....."
Realization hit Ayumi like a ton of bricks.
"And now you, you're weighing her down with your so-called love." Makoto spat
"My love for her is at least pure, unlike yours!" Ayumi struck back
He felt Makoto slap him.
"I think you don't know the situation you're in." |