Chapter 26: Dream Walking (4)

It was already past 5 when they left the school grounds. They remained in the library right until Suzuoki, the main target of Yukari’s affection, left. 

 

“Now what?” asked Hiyori, taking a deep breath, looking up at Everlong, standing at a busy street while people were passing by them constantly. 

 

“We should go home. To Yukari’s I mean. Let’s see what kind of people her parents were!”

 

“For a moment I was expecting the fact that she stalked him… but now that you mentioned her parents I strongly feel… as if I should be at home by now! I don’t think they are going to be happy that I was out this late and are going to punish me again!” sighed with a strong tinge of fear mixed into her voice.

 

“It’s not even 6!” said Everlong, testing her reaction, knowing that her worries were in fact Yukari’s.

 

“...” looked up at him, blinking twice, rapidly “True. It’s not even dark! Well, we can guess what kind of parents they were then!” rubbed her face, annoyed with the situation of perceiving someone else's emotions as her own.

 

“Yeah, but let’s go! Guesses are just that, guesses! We need to see it in person!”

 

“How are you going to come in? Introduce yourself as a teacher who escorts students back home? Or barge in and tell them you are my boyfriend?” joked, already walking forward, heading to her ‘home’, letting her body follow the road by instinct. 

 

“I don’t think it would work very well!” laughed, shaking his head “You go in, experience what it was like for her, then when night sets in, I’ll come in! So don’t lock your windows!”

 

“Oh, how exciting! Okay~” clapped with a grin, feeling like they are going to recreate a scene from a secret love story. 

 

“Don’t let your imagination run wild!” warned Everlong with a more serious tone “Letting yourself immersed in this world, forgetting what we are here for is the easiest way to give an opening for her! Even if she is an amateur demon wannabe, she could exploit it and drill into your psyche and cripple you!”

 

“O-okay! S-sorry!” answered quickly, recollecting herself, shaking out the unnecessary thoughts from her head.

 

“No worries for now. I’m here to guide you, this is the perfect training for our future work!” patted her shoulder as he walked next to her.

 

“Does that mean I’ll be hired?” smiled Hiyori, with honest excitement plastered all over her face. 

 

“Yeah! You are promising and I have to acknowledge, it is much easier to work in a pair than by myself.”

 

“Hehe~” closed her eyes for a little, being very happy to finally have herself a future now “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down! Not after all the things you did for me!”

 

“I’d have done it either way. It’s my job.” replied calmly.

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“For you, yes… but still… I’m grateful!” murmured, feeling happy about the fact that, by Everlong’s words to Sheby, she was chosen. Even if by the Devil himself, at least she was living once again!

 

…

….

…..

 

Hiyori could not shake off the rapidly rising fear inside her as she was standing before the front door to Yukari’s home. Even after repeating it in her head, they were NOT her parents, it simply was not enough to stop her hands from shaking. Yukari’s home was a moderate sized, two story house, with a tall, solid wooden fence around the small, front garden. The front door she was facing for the past 5 minutes had a huge cross plastered on the middle of it, also acting as the door knocker. Gathering all her courage, she took out her keys but as soon as she pushed it into the lock, the door swung open, tearing out her keychain from her palm, cutting it open in the process. 

 

“...!” pulled back her hand with surprise, holding it close to her chest, looking at the woman on the other side.

 

She was only half a head higher than Hiyori, wearing a long, brown skirt that reached down to her ankles, with a similarly plain sweater atop. At first glance she was somewhere between her forties or fifties, her black hair was tied up in a knot behind her head, while her brown eyes were coldly watching her own daughter. From her neck a big, golden cross was hanging down, decorating her flat chest and thin body, that was almost as thin as Hiyori’s. 

 

“In! Now!” said, shouting, grabbing Hiyori’s wrist, pulling her inside before slamming the door behind them. 

 

“What the-?!” gasped Hiyori but as soon as she spoke out, a hard slap went across her face.

 

“Dare to talk back?! Should’ve been homeschooled like your brothers were! Look at yourself! Rebelling against those who gave you life?! What are they teaching to you in that Godless place?! Those uniforms they dress you in are made even in a way, so your body successfully seduces the sinful souls! Showing this much skin! We are going to take you out, heretic laws be damned by God! We already picked out a small town we are going to move to! You are in deep need of reforming, before your soul gets taken by the Devil!”

 

“...?” blinked very rapidly Hiyori, stunned, not even believing what was happening, thinking if this is even real? If this really happened or not? Was this Yukari manipulating her memories so she starts feeling some sympathy for her?

 

Looking up and around, the inside of the home was clean and sterile. Way too sterile. The white walls and floors were more like that of a hospital or a mental institute, than a home. There were no colors present as every furniture was either white, gray or silver. What gave the only contour to the white void-like space were the wooden crosses and the brown picture frames around the different, biblical images on the walls. Not to mention the odor… that clear smell of disinfectant, feeling like she was in a hospital as soon as she stepped through the door! Her mother said nothing, just grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her down towards, into the basement. Standing on the cold, hard, concrete floor, her mother simply hit her hands with a wooden ruler, ordering her to strip down completely! Unable to refuse, Hiyori did as she was told and immediately squirmed as the woman behind her just made her lean forward as she inspected her privates! Opening it up with her cold fingers, shining a flashlight into it, Hiyori never experienced a humiliation like this! 

 

“At least you are still a virgin! Staying out late, fooling with boys before marriage?!” slapped on her bottom with the ruler, making her cry out as she jumped up while it left a deep, red mark on her skin, almost cracking it open.

 

“I did no-” tried to speak but another slap was her immediate ‘reward’ as the woman mercilessly grabbed her, pulling Hiyori to the corner and making her kneel on a hard, dried corn kernel and making her recite bible verses one after another.

 

Hiyori was shocked at what awaited her the moment she stepped into the home and the negative feelings started to mount up and up as her lips mechanically, like a voice recorder, recited everything her mother asked for. There was no emotion in her voice, there was no consciousness in them. The monotone, stable and unbothered voice was not even hers anymore. She quickly knew, the one who was speaking through her now was Yukari, sinking into a kind of a trance, reliving this memory to its fullest. 

 

Her mother asked one verse after another, hitting her back every time she was not fast enough to reply or stopped to think about it. Hiyori knew, every time she stopped speaking and felt the ruler landing on her skin, leaving a mark, it was because Yukari was holding herself back, so her true thoughts would not escape her mouth. Inside, in Yukari’s mind, even as she recited the text from the Bible, she was twisting and turning the words into completely opposite meanings for herself. Into something that her mother would even kill her for if she ever dared to utter them. By now she was completely gone in the head, her desire to be something else than her parents imagined her to be. To become the complete opposite of what her mother wants her to be. This notion inside of her was stronger than anything else at that moment.

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